


All by yourself

by halfwingangel



Category: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn is mortal, Confrontations, Developing Relationship, Doctor/Patient, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Medical Examination, Medicine, Multi, Or was it in the other way around?, Overworking, Poetry, Prosthesis, Reader-Insert, Starts with romance and ends with war, Surgery, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 69,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwingangel/pseuds/halfwingangel
Summary: A respected doctor in Insomnia. You love your job, but it seems like it sabotages everything else. Gladio's return to your life comes unexpectedly and helping Prince Ravus with his new prosthetic arm is quite a task, but finding balance seems the most difficult of your challenges. Especially with love in times of war.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Reader, Nyx Ulric/Reader, Ravus Nox Fleuret/Reader
Comments: 71
Kudos: 90





	1. Just let me be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone. I don't (and I do) know where this come from, but I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I apologize in advance for the lenght, any typos or anything that seems to make no sense.
> 
> I know it starts light but it will get better, I promise.

"Thank you, doctor," the glaive nodded, still flushed for having had to consult you for that small "rash".

"You welcome," you smirked. "And, please, use protection always."

"Y-Yes, of course. I don't want to go through this again," he nervously scratched the nape of his neck.

You chuckled and crossed your arms, rocking slightly in the swivel chair. "I know. Take care."

"Yeah," he made a sheepishly smile. "Thanks, doc. Goodbye."

"Bye," you waved as he closed the door.

You couldn't be more comfortable working at the Citadel. Despite the fact that your specialty was very specific, it didn't bother you at all to take little consultations and take care of the periodic review of the glaives and the members of the Crownsguard. A task that the Marshal himself had entrusted to you, adducing your extensive knowledge of human anatomy.

Your office was pleasant, your appointments were arranged according to the schedule of your surgeries at the Caelum Memorial and the pay, without a doubt, was unmatched. Not to mention the privileges that you enjoyed within the building.

Although from time to time you had to attend to these kinds of unofficial queries. Glaives were impressive at work, but their private lives used to be quite a mess. You were relaxed with these matters so they had trusted you and now they looked for you with some frequency.

After filing the medical history of the previous patient, a man with a right-hand tenorrhaphy with a satisfactory evolution, you took the folder of the next one. Speaking of a mess...

"Faye, please send Gladiolus Amicitia in. Thank you," you spoke to your assistant on the phone. Organizing your instruments then, a gentle knock on the door was heard.

"Come in," you said, turning around. Gladio was already opening it and poking his head out.

"Good morning," he grinned.

"Good morning," you smiled, sitting back in your chair and opening his file on the computer. "How have you been?"

"I can't complain," taking off his jacket and placing it on the back of the chair across you. "And you?"

"Great," you said, then turned to his folder. "Let's see," quickly reading the record of the previous appointment that another doctor had to attend. "Today is your quarterly checkup."

"Yep," he sat down and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms.

"How's the muscle that you injured," you closed the folder and looked at him. "Did you do the therapies?"

"Everything to the letter."

"Good," you nodded. "Please take off your shirt and pants and sit on the stretcher," pointing your thumb over your shoulder.

He made a quiet chuckle. "You didn't used to be so gentle to ask me that before," he said as he got up from the chair and walked towards the divider that hid the examination area.

You huffed a small laugh. "And you didn't use to cover yourself to do it. But those were other times," slightly hardening your voice with the bitterness of memories. You kept typing in some data on the computer. You weren't going to fall for his game.

He hummed in response while you listened to the sound his clothes made as he took them off. A minute after you heard the crunch of the stretcher as it gave way under his weight, giving you the signal that he was ready. You got up from your chair and circled the divider.

Damn it.

That damn body that made you spend so many sleepless nights, those arms that kept you close to him and embraced you in a soft warmth. That chest where you fell asleep when you arrived from a long day at the hospital, exhausted, tired of everything and everyone.

Damn him.

Damn him for taking it away from you.

His hands were gripping the edge of the stretcher and he looked straight ahead, not to you. His expression flat, but you noticed the involuntary tension of his arms. You were professional enough not to mix up your personal life here, so just one more patient was seated in front you.

Taking your stethoscope you started his physical exam.

"Breathe in." The eagle on his chest seemed to move with his breathing. "Let it out. Again." He closed his eyes for a moment and seemed to grip the stretcher more tightly as you put a hand on his shoulder to better position the stethoscope on his back. "Good."

Shifting the stethoscope to his chest you listened carefully. His heart was a race. Healthy and strong, at least.

"That's not fair," he said with a half smile when you removed it.

You made a small chuckle. "Lay down." He was too large for the length of the stretcher, so a good amount of his legs were left in the air. "Relax," you said, touching his beautiful abdomen. Too bad you couldn't afford to trace his abs with your fingers like you used to.

"That's easy for you to say," he replied. And you used all the willpower you were capable of to avoid looking at his underwear.

You turned to look at him as you felt each quadrant and he was already staring at you. Those bright amber eyes that ever conquered your heart. It was inevitable to remember things, but the past was in the past, so you blinked back to your work.

"You can get up now," you said, removing your hands. The hard part was coming. "Stand here with your back to me."

He stood up making and effort sound and went to the place you pointed, arms at his sides. And you swallowed.

For the love of the Six, that _ass_.

It fitted perfectly with his amazing tattooed back and those strong thighs. Gods. You always loved his _posterior._ You used to love all of him.

Gathering yourself you kept going. "Stand on the balls of your feet. Now on your heels. Good. Bend over and touch your toes with your hands. Excellent."

"I see why you get along with Cor," he smirked as he stretched out after following each one of your instructions. Of course he had to work his muscles in front of you.

"I'm just doing my job," you said, unamused. "Stretch your arms. Take them up. Now to the front and close your eyes. Perfect. Stand on the weight, please."

You'd purposely left the senses' examination for the end because of the closeness it involved and the memories that it brought to you. "Alright," you said after taking note of his weight. "Get dressed and we can go on with the final part."

You went to the desk to write some and take your mind away from the mental image that his semi-naked body had left you. You could _feel_ his eyes on your back as you circled the divider.

Hearing him put on his clothes again you decided to divert the subject for a moment.

"Prompto hasn't come for his checkup. Could you remind him when you see him?" Not that you couldn't do it yourself. You remained friends with _his_ friends after the breakup and now they were _your_ friends, so you could just text him, but you felt the need to talk about anything.

"Sure. You know he has a hard time on doctors," he scoffed.

"He's going to have a hard time with the Marshal if he doesn't come," you played along. "And I, by the way. If I don't make sure of it."

He chuckled and peeked out of the side of the tube that held the blue curtain. "What's next?"

"Please sit there," you said, pointing at the chair at the back of the office. You needed darkness for the visual exam so you decreased the intensity of the light with the wall dimmer.

"How romantic," he jested as he sat down and you gave him a flat look while he shifted in the uncomfortable chair.

"Look at the mark on the wall and keep your eyes there," you indicated with your index finger.

When he fixed his gaze you took the ophthalmoscope and came closer, aiming the light at his eyes. Being a few inches from his face you could feel the heat emanating from him, his breathing in your skin.

That was how you'd kissed for the first time. He'd taken advantage of the closeness and grabbed you around the waist, pressing you gently but firmly against him. He took the instrument from your hand and set it aside, caressed your cheek and pinned his amber eyes on yours, which seemed to shine in the gloom of the place. Then, tracing your jaw, he ran his hand to the nape of your neck and drew you in a kiss so soft and so powerful that all your interior shook with the attention of his tongue in your mouth and his hands on your body. He tasted a bit salty and spicy. You ran your fingers through his shoulders and his neck, to find place in his hair and back.

It was perfect. But this was quick.

One look at one retina and then the other. Alternating your posture so that only half of your face was in front of half of his, as you'd learned so long ago in the medicine school.

Finishing off with his eyes and taking a look at his ear canals with the otoscope, you ended your job standing in front of him and leaving your instruments on the wall support for them.

"Alright, we're done," smiling lightly but adding a bit of acid to that last sentence. More for you than for him.

Heading to the wall dimmer again, a strong but incredibly tender hand grabbed yours.

You turned to the contact and his eyes were on you like two gems shining in the dim light. You frowned involuntarily and he slowly released you, averting your gaze for a second. You just stood there for some beats, looking at him, wondering why. Why now. Then turned around and enlighted the room again.

You sat in your chair and let out a heavy sigh. He walked towards the chair across you and grabbed his jacket, standing in front of your desk while you finished typing in his records.

"Guess we're done," he said in a deep voice. You could identify some of that tone you used with him before.

"Yes. We are," you quickly replied without taking your eyes off the screen.

He stood there for a brief moment and left after letting out a sigh himself, closing the door behind him. You stopped the moment the door closed, leaving your fingers motionless on the keyboard. Closing your eyes, trying to compose yourself, you realized that your feelings for him were not yet completely gone, even though the one that reigned now was the discomfort of knowing that he had made you conflict with yourself.

You knew that you'd tried hard and that in recent years it hadn't been easy for you to maintain a relationship with practically anyone. So you knew that nothing would be different if you both tried it again, because nothing had changed for you.

The phone on your desk rang.

"Doctor, may I let in your next patient?" Faye hesitantly asked. It seemed like you took too long in your musings.

"Yes, please," you startled a little. "Thank you." Running hands through your face, you sighed heavily and prepared to continue, leaving aside the intrussive thoughts.

This is what you were and you loved it. And no one would ever had the right to change that.

<>

Traffic on the way to the hospital was always heavy at that hour. Generally, it was the only time in the day where you could find out what was going on around the world and have a coffee in your car without fear of spilling it on you since you could easily go faster by walk. But you needed your car later at night.

" _... And several wounded, including Prince Ravus Nox Fleuret, whose condition is unknown. The attack on the Fenestala Manor has taken the nation of Tenebrae by surprise, but declarations from the Oracle are expected in the coming hours. We'll continue to monitor this news on development. In other news, the recent difficulties at the Exineris plant..."_

Turning off the radio you sighed. It had been a while since the Empire had attacked on such a large scale.

With your hands on the wheel you remembered all the glaives wounded in the last raid by the imperial soldiers outside the wall. That had meant a long stay of yours on the hospital premises, reconnecting nerves, joining tendons and replacing limbs with artificial parts. As well as listening to laments, comforting, wiping away tears and giving encouragement to continue with what would be a long process of adaptation.

But that had earned you the respect of the king, with your subsequent entry to the Citadel as one of the royal doctors. You'd been so burned out after that, both physically and emotionally, that the king's first act after hiring you was to give you 15 days off, fully paid, which you received gratefully. But didn't take completely.

You could only hope that they had good doctors in Tenebrae to help them.

Leaving your car in the hospital parking lot, you went up to the surgery wing to start your shift. The characteristic smell of hypochlorite, chlorhexidine and formaldehyde always made you feel at home.

"Hey, princess," Xavier greeted you. A nickname that he gave you since your enter to the Citadel. But It always made you smile.

“Hey, you,” you answered as he hooked you by the elbow to walk down the hall to the locker room.

“Another beautiful day at the Citadel?” he grinned.

You grimaced, pursing your lips. “Not so much. I saw Gladio today.”

“Really? What happened?” He pushed open the door to the room while you were looking for your locker's key.

“Well. I don't really know.” You opened your locker and start change into your uniform. ”He had an appointment for his checkup, and everything turned awkward at the end.”

“Why?” he asked as he changed, too. One of the nurses came in and greeted you both, smiling. This was your special moment before starting the day.

“He took me by the hand when I was finishing his exam but didn't say a word. And I just... I don't know. ”

“Was he naked?” he said with an amused look, while he put on his pants.

“No!” you laughed. “He was already dressed. But that's not the important thing, Xavier. Focus.”

“I wouldn't have focused with him half naked on my stretcher.”

You laughed again. This man was incorrigible. “I have to admit that it wasn't easy,” you finished putting on your uniform and stuffed your things into the locker. “But I can't go back to that. He made his choice very clear and I made mine.”

“I'm proud of you.” He stuffed his clothes in his bag. “I would've already given up and taken him to my bed again.”

“Yeah, I'm sure you would have,” you said smiling and shook your head, leaning against your closed locker. “Because you have a big heart, don't you?”

“I do,” he grinned, shrugging, and lifted his bag. “And that's why I have more fun than you," pointing at you with his finger.

You walked towards the door with him. “Yeah, and maybe you have more STDs than me.” The nurse who was entering the room suddenly stopped at your comment and stared at you both. You made a sheepishly smile and continued your way grabbing him by the elbow.

“Hey! I'm not like some of your glaives, you know?”

One day you had to ask him about a specific treatment for an unusual finding in a lab test from one of the glaives. He could see then the kind of queries you had to answer sometimes.

“You better not,” you smirked. Both left the room heading towards the operating rooms.

“I'm going to leave this in my office,” he said, taking a detour. “See you there.”

“Alright. Don't seduce anyone along the way.”

"There's no one left here,” he winked at you and turned on his heels.

You chuckled and went on to the room where your afternoon patient was waiting for you. Xavier would assist you in the procedure. He might have a crazy life sometimes but he was a professional at his job. You loved working with him and he'd become one of your best friends outside the hospital.

You walked into the room and greeted your team, then went to see your patient. A hunter who had seriously injured his hand in a battle against a herd of garulas. He fell when he was knocked down by one of them and another stepped on his hand with one of his huge legs. Painful. But, fortunately, it had a fix.

"Hi, Dave," you said, poking your head into the small room that was next to where the surgery was to be carried out.

"Morning, doctor," he replied with that raspy voice of his, settling on the stretcher to sit as you walked towards him.

“How do you feel?” you asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Well," he smiled," the painkillers are doing its job,” then looked at his bandaged hand.

You chuckled. “That's good. I'll see you in a moment, okay? We're getting everything ready for you.”

“Sure. Thanks, doctor.” He leaned in the stretcher, already changed into his surgical gown and ready to the procedure.

“You welcome.” You smiled at him and headed for the sinks. Xavier caught up with you there.

"So, speaking of fun," he chanted as soon as he was by your side, positioning his hands under the tap sensor, "what if you come with me to the birthday party?"

"What birthday party?" you turned you gaze to him while rubbing your hands with soap following the specific sequence of movements.

"Are you serious?" he snapped and stopped in his hand washing. "Please tell me you're joking."

You grinned. Of course you were joking. "How could I forget if you've been harassing me the whole month with it." You raised your brows. "You can be really annoying sometimes, you know?"

He gave you a flat look. "And you can be a bitch." Your grin didn't waned and he returned to his task. "But are you coming? Say yes," he made those stupid puppy eyes.

You frowned and elbowed him and he splashed soap in his uniform. "I don't feel like party. Actually, I could use some sleep in my free weekend, I think I need It."

"Yeah," he gave you a faked pity look, "you look like shit."

You elbowed him again, harder this time, and both laughed. "I know how those parties end. Not again, thank you."

He pouted. "Ok. What about that friend of yours at the Citadel. The advisor."

"Ignis?" you raised your brows. "I doubt he likes that kind of party. Why do you want him to go?"

"He's handsome and, as far as I know, he needs to relax," he finished his hand washing, "and so do you."

You took one of the paper towels to dry your hands. "And that's what I'm going to do in my house with a bottle of wine."

"And alone. You're depressing." You both threw the paper towels in the bin arranged for it and went into the operating room.

"I like to be alone, what's the problem with that?" You put on your surgical cap and face mask.

"That human beings need people," he extended his arms and the nurse's aide began dressing him in his surgical gown.

"What for?" another aide were doing the same for you and you began to put on your sterile gloves.

He turned to you. "Did you learn nothing in med school?" Making a loud, elastic slap sound when he released the edge of one of his gloves. "Procreation."

And the surgery room burst out laughing.

"I'm going to ask for your transfer," you smiled and shook your head.

Fully dressed, you walked over to Dave, whom they were preparing on the surgery table. “That man is not going to touch you,” you said to him pointing at Xavier and Dave laughed. “We'll see you soon,” you winked at him.

The procedure was going to take a few hours but in the middle of the wonderful anesthesia-induced sleep it would seem like minutes to him. He smiled and drifted away to dreamland.

“Okay everyone, let's begin,” you cheered up, clapping one time with your gloved hands. “Ray, put something good today,” you said to the anesthesiologist. “Last time you almost made me fall asleep.”

He chuckled. “What are you talking about, it was classic.”

“Come on, this is not a funeral,” you playfully replied.

“I thought you didn't feel like party,” Xavier said across from you with his hands held in the air to avoid contamination and some funky music began to play.

You smiled with your eyes that was the only thing that could be seen on your face and moved your arms and your hips to the rhythm of the music while the surgical nurse handed you the scalpel. "This is _my_ kind of party.”

<>

After a usual long day, you were finally home.

Leaving your shoes on the side of the door, you went straight into the kitchen and poured yourself a cold glass of orange juice. You left it on the coffee table and threw yourself on the couch, turning on the TV and surfing the entire channel grid without finding anything good, only to return to the channel where they were broadcasting, once again, one of those chicks flicks.

You drank your juice while the protagonist received bouquet after bouquet of white roses in her office from a man who was desperately trying to win her over. Men no longer did that in real life, you thought, and lay down along the couch while the actress and her friends giggled. What she didn't know was that the man was just trying to win a bet. Poor her. And poor you because you'd seen this movie at least a million times.

You were somewhat hungry but too tired to get up and do something. So, you just lay there, slowly falling asleep, thinking about Dave's surgery, Gladio's attempt and how both juxtaposed, reminding you that when something seems to be going well in life other things seem to go to hell. Or at least in your life it seemed like that most of the time.

<>

After another morning of work in the Citadel the king was waiting for you. Faye had given you the message first thing in the morning to meet him when you were done. So, you left your office and went straight to the Throne Room. You were no longer nervous about going in there.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” you greeted, nodding politely. Prince Noctis was at his side and waved at you, making a small smile.

The king stood up from his throne and smiled. “Good afternoon, doctor,” he said as he went down one of the curved stairs. “How have you been?”

“Excellent, thank you,” you clasped your hands in front of you, “how's your knee?”

“Healing,” he lifted it and patted it playfully with a hand. “I hardly need to use the cane anymore.”

You chuckled. “I'm glad to hear that.”

Then he stood in front of you. “I apologize for the sudden call, but something urgent has emerged. I hope I haven't interrupted your work.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty,” you smiled at him and slightly shook your head. “What can I do for you?”

Noctis stayed by the throne, leaning on it, typing something on his cell phone.

“I'm sure you've heard the latest news about the attack on Tenebrae,” he began and you nodded. “Unfortunately, Prince Ravus was seriously injured. He lost his left arm.”

“He lost it?" you widened your eyes."Have they amputated it yet?” asking quickly. Perhaps there was still a chance to save it.

“I'm afraid so," the king nodded. There was no chance anymore. “And they want to come here so that you can evaluate the possibility of replacing it.”

You've already seen a few members of the Tenebrae's army in the past, so your work was already known there.

“Of course,” you nodded in agreement. “When would he arrive?”

“He would be here by Monday. The doctors who treated him will send you all the necessary information today.”

So, you would basically have only two days to study the whole case. There it goes your free weekend.

“Alright, then I'll be ready by then," discarding your grief for your lost rest. "How terrible that has happened.”

“Indeed. He lost it protecting the queen.” You raised your brows. “Fortunately, she and Lady Lunafreya are doing well and they managed to repel the attack of the Empire.”

"That's a relief," you said, dropping your shoulders, looking at the marbled floor for a moment. How many more had to be sacrificed in this war for the stupid greed of an old man, you thought. So many mutilated, from the Galahd refugees to the prince of Tenebrae. Sometimes everything you had to see seemed incredible to you.

The king nodded and put a hand on your shoulder. "I must not take more time from you. Please let me know the process and if you need anything."

"Of course, Your Majesty. I will." You made a soft smile, returning your eyes to him and nodded.

"Thank you," he said.

"Have a good day," you said. "And you, too, Your Highness," you addressed Prince Noctis speaking slightly louder on purpose. He looked up from his phone and gave you an ironic smile. You knew it bothered him when you treated him formally so you returned the gesture with your best shit-eating smirk.

Smiling at the king, you turned around and left the room. You would take care of all this later. Now you just needed to eat.

<>

The food at the Citadel was always delicious and it was one of the privileges you had as a member of the royal medical team, so you tried not to miss out on having lunch here almost every day before going to the hospital.

You sat at a table close to the window and one of the waiters filled your glass with water. The dining room was pleasant, bright and spacious, and there were almost always few people. It seemed that not many had time to eat in this place. Too bad for them.

"May I join you?" a familiar accent spoke to you.

"Ignis! Hi!" you turned to him, smiling. "Of course, please."

He smiled in return and took the seat by your side. He was always a good company. "I haven't seen you a few days ago, have you been alright?"

"Yeah, I've been good," you said and took a sip from your glass. "Working, you know, as usual. How have you been?"

"Pretty much the same," he said as he looked at the water falling into his glass from the pitcher the waiter was holding. "Interesting lives we have," a corner of his lips slightly curling into a smile.

You chuckled. "I know. But someone has to do it."

"Certainly." It was his turn to take a sip of water. "Speaking of which, I'm arranging everything for the arrival of Prince Ravus."

You hummed, having the impression that you'd been the last to know of his coming. "King Regis just told me. I still don't know anything about his case- Thank you." The waiter put your plate on the table and then Ignis'.

"Thank you," Ignis said as well and returned to your conversation. "It was a sudden notice. I trust that I'll manage to set everything ready on time." He put his cloth napkin on his lap. "He can be... quite difficult at times."

You smiled and pricked a piece of meat with your fork. "Are you warning me?"

He chuckled before taking a bite. "Perhaps. Though unintentionally."

"I can handle that," you said grinning after swallowing your meat. It wouldn't be the first or the last time that you had to deal with a difficult patient. It was a matter of finding a common ground.

"I do not doubt it," he replied. "Is there anything special that he may need during his stay? I may be missing something."

You consider it for a moment while you punctured some vegetables here and there. "I don't think so. Just some space to do his therapies after the procedure. Nothing too big."

"Very well. I think it's fine then." He continued to neatly cut his piece of meat.

"Yeah," you said as you watched him doing it, amused. He was so organized in everything. "I supose he's staying at the Citadel."

"Indeed. Unless you consider it appropiate any other way."

"Like in the hospital? No way," you said half chewing a bite. "If he's as picky as you say, I prefer that _you_ have to deal with him and not _me_ or any of my colleagues."

He chuckled again. It was always so easy to talk with him. "He will probably make you come from your house in the middle of the night or make you leave surgery. I suggest that you consider your stay at the Citadel as well."

"I wish him luck trying," you scoffed and washed your bite with a drink of water.

"Hectic days await us," he smiled thouhtfuly. "Do you have any plans for this weekend?"

"My plan was to do nothing, but now I must read everything they should have already sent me from Tenebrae," you shrugged and made some sort of sheepish smile. It wasn't that you didn't want to take his case, of course you wanted, but you'd also expected to rest and now you couldn't do it the way you wanted.

"I recall you telling me something about a birthday party that you'd been invited to." He looked at you over his glasses that he adjusted right after with one finger.

"Yeah. I wasn't planning to go anyway. But my friend Xavier wants you to go with him," you said grinning, rolling your eyes to him and you could see how he almost chocked on his water. "Do you remember him?"

"Your colleague," he straight himself and cleared his throat. "Yes, I remember him. But I'm afraid I must decline."

You snickered. "Too bad, he really wants you to go."

"Unfortunate. I have many obligations to attend to," he delicately cleaned his mouth with the napkin and took another sip from his glass.

"You know what, Ignis? We should date," you pointed at both of you with your fork and he almost chocked again. "Think about it. We're always busy, we'd see each other like once a week, being optimistic, and neither would care because we know that the other wouldn't have time anyway. It's perfect."

He made a soft laugh and looked at you. "Tempting. We could use lunch to catch up."

Using your fork to mark your words again, you spoked. "You get me. That's all the time we need to make this work."

He smiled and set his empty plate aside, crossing his hands in front of him. Ignis turned into some kind of support during your breakup, knowing well all the reasons that led to that outcome. It was at that time that you became good friends, more than when you were with Gladio.

"In a second thought, perhaps I should accept your friend's invitation," he mocked.

"Hey! You're hurting my feelings," you whined and smiled. "Anyway," getting serious again, "I have to go. Duty call." You left the cutlery on the empty plate and finished your water.

"I must return as well," he left the napkin on the table. "I'll let you know when everything is ready."

"Okay, thanks. And think about what I said," you pointed at him with your finger, smirking, while you stood up from your chair.

He smiled and stood up, too. "That would be one more reason for you to consider moving to the Citadel."

You laughed. "I'll let you know. Take care" you waved at him and he nodded with a smile, then heading to the other exit of the dining room.

Moving to the Citadel had never been an option, you would lose what little freedom you had left. Living away from your workplace has always been important to you because it gave you the feeling that you kept your work life separate from your private life and on high stress days that was key to getting away from it all.

But if the prince was as Ignis said, you would have to spend some extra time in the Citadel. And you weren't very excited with the idea.

Hectic days awaited you.

<>

The rest of the day passed without major setbacks. You hadn't had surgeries in the afternoon, just a few check-ups, so you were able to get to your apartment a bit earlier than you usually used to arrive.

You put on your pajamas, that basically consisted of a cotton t-shirt and pants, and turned on your laptop. Sitting in the couch with a glass of wine in your hand and some soft music playing, you decided that although you couldn't rest like you wanted, you were going to dedicate yourself to the case of the prince in the most relaxed way possible.

You opened the emails with all his medical history and realized that his case had been really serious. Looking at the x-rays and other images, some photos of the state of his arm after the attack and the entire report from the surgeons, you agreed that amputation was the only option they had left. The damage was too severe.

Now the challenge was to find the perfect prosthesis for him. The best bioengineering team was in the hospital and you had already implanted prostheses with a nerve interconnection that allowed the patient to control it as a limb of their own. It wasn't a new procedure, so you were confident that all of you would be successful here as well.

In the afternoon you'd already discussed the case with the team at the hospital and you'd agreed to send them this same information, which you did immediately. You were scrutinizing one of the images when the intercom buzzer startled you.

"Really?" you said to yourself looking at the device next to your door. Who the fuck could be bothering you right now? You thought for a moment about not attending, but the lights in your apartment were on so you begrudgingly got up. If it was Xavier trying to get you out of your house for that stupid party, you were going to punch him in the face.

"Yes?" you said after pressing the button.

A brief moment of silence. " _It's me_." That deep voice that got hoarser by the intercom distortion.

You froze as well as your finger in the button. Then you leaned your forehead against the wall and let out a heavy sigh closing your eyes. "Gladio, what are you doing here?" pressing the button again.

" _I need to talk to you."_

Why? Why? You left your forehead against the wall. You didn't have time to talk. You didn't _want_ to talk. Everything was fine at last, you felt good, and now he wanted to come to turn everything upside down again. He'd never looked for you since you broke up, not even once. You only saw him a couple of times when you all got together for some celebration and he ignored you most of the time. Why now after weeks without knowing anything about him.

" _Please. I'm gonna be quick, I promise._ "

Sighing again you pressed the button to open the door downstairs, cursing you for your weakness, then left your apartment door ajar and went to sit on the couch again.

You recognized his heavy steps approaching and he timidly opened the door. You didn't take your eyes off the screen, looking without looking.

"Hi," he said softly as he closed the door behind him.

"Hi," you plainly answer. "Come in."

He walked in your direction and sat on the other side of the couch. "Is that the prince's case?" he asked looking at your laptop.

"Yeah," you answered, scrolling down the page.

He hummed and looked to the tv where you had put your playlist. "He's gonna be in good hands."

You put your laptop on the table and, sighing, ran your hands over your face. You quickly began to lose patience. It bothered you when people didn't go straight to the point and wasted time on small talk.

"Why are you here?" You gazed at him and asked impatiently.

He seemed to order his thoughts for a moment and then spoke with a deep, low tone. "I'm sorry."

You waited to see if he said anything else, but it was all that came out of his mouth. "What?"

"I behaved like an asshole. I was selfish with you and I'm sorry about that." His elbows were resting on his knees and his hands dangled, moving only to mark his words. "I just want you to know that now I understand what your work means to you and that I shouldn't have tried to hoard you."

A little over three months ago he'd been officially named as the prince's shield. You'd stopped bumping into him completely since then until the day before in your office.

Your irritation softened a little and you stared at the screen for a while where it was an angiograph of the prince's shoulder. "Thanks for that," was all you finally managed to say.

"Yeah," he hesitantly said. Probably disappointed by your answer, but it was all you could give him now. You realized that his reasons for breaking up with you had affected you more than you wanted to admit and, apparently, you still hadn't completely healed.

Sighing, you got up from the couch and went to the kitchen to refill your glass of wine. After doing so, you just stood there with your hands resting on the counter and your back to him. You didn't have the energy to do this.

Then you turned around to tell him to leave but he was already in front of you. Even though your height was above average, his large presence was always engulfing you, covering you from the rest of the world.

"I've missed you," he said. The corners of his lips pulling down in a frown.

You glanced up at him. "It took you a long time to realize that," you snapped.

He frowned slightly. You didn't mean to be cruel, but the words came out of you before you could tell. "Don't be like that," his voice was low and dark.

"Gladio, listen," you walked around the counter, which now stood between you, and brought your glass of wine closer, sliding it across the marble. "I appreciate that you came here and told me that, I really do, but I don't want to do this. Seriously... I can't."

You stared at the base of the glass, touching it idly with your fingers, only hearing his breathing. He didn't make a sound or a move. A melancholic melody sounded on your tv.

"I think you should go," you said.

He stood there for a couple of beats and you didn't look at him, then he put a fist on the counter and walked slowly towards the door. You heard the sound of the handle when he opened it and then when he closed it behind him.

The soft music kept playing and the red of the wine absorbed you. You wanted to look for him after you broke up, you wanted him to look for you, but nothing ever happened. You no longer felt lonely, but you didn't know what to feel now that he reappeared. A part of you wanted him back, but another part refused to return where you had felt hurt.

Not knowing why, you walked to the door. Laying on your back with a slight _thud_ when your head leaned on it and your hands behind you touching the wood, you closed your eyes and a couple of tears caught you rolling down your cheeks. You couldn't be that weak, you thought, but you'd felt sad for a long time. You thought you'd found a companion in him and you've been wrong. Maybe you were trying too hard.

A few more tears escaped your eyes when you heard a soft thud behind you.

"Please, open the door," his voice was just above a whisper, sounding so close that his face must've been leaning against the door on the other side.

Your chest ached and you squeezed your eyes turning around. The moment you opened the door, two large hands cupped your face and your lips were surprised by a warm and intense kiss.

Your hands went up to his chest and you noticed how he closed the door behind him, pushing it with one foot. His lips pried at yours, finding your tongue with his in gentle movements that made you melt into him. One of his hands tangled with your hair while the other slid down to your waist to draw you closer to him. Your hands found his jaw and nape, feeling his warmth against you.

Then, momentarily regaining your senses, you broke the kiss. "No, Gladio. We're not-"

"I know," he interrupted you, panting. "I know," planting another kiss in your lips. Then he rested his forehead against yours and cupped your cheeks, both breathing hard. "I know you're not gonna listen anything I came to say."

You huffed a small laugh and covered his hands with yours, feeling his breath, smelling his closeness.

Then he leaned and closed more the distance, whispering against your lips. "Let me show how much I've missed you."

You didn't know if it was the wine in your blood or Xavier's words that resonated in your mind more than you should've allowed. You let yourself go and time stopped around you.

Something deep inside was still pulling but the truth was you missed him, too.

The music kept playing.

You would deal with the consequences in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got this far, thanks for reading. I'll continue to upload chapters as often as I can (I seem to be as busy as reader), but I promise you this won't be left unfinished. I'm too obsessive for that. Thanks again and I accept as many comments, criticisms, insults and boos as you want. I promise to answer them all.


	2. And hear my voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time (writing smut) so be gentle. That's the only warning. That and, maybe, a moment of vulnerability.

"I screwed up," you spoke on the phone that you were holding between your shoulder and head while you prepared something in the kitchen that could be called lunch.

" _You slept with Gladio._ " Xavier's voice on the other end of the line sounded hoarse, the product of a long night and a recent awakening.

"No," you spoke outraged for such assumption.

" _Liar_."

In your years of friendship with Xavier, you'd learned two things: that a party with him could reset your brain to its factory values and that you couldn't fool him.

So, you sighed. "Yes."

" _Good for you,_ " he yawned. It was really late afternoon. Surely, he'd arrived at his house at dawn. You, on the other hand, had been busy with the prince's case and had forgotten to eat.

"I shouldn't have done that," you said as you finished putting together a double-decker sandwich.

" _Relax. You're a mortal like the rest of us. It's okay to sin from time to time_ ," he sounded like he was stretching. " _Don't be so harsh on yourself_."

"I know, but still," you sat on your couch with your obscene sandwich and some juice. Because of course.

" _Is he still there?_ " he suddenly sounded a little curious.

"No," was your obvious answer. You weren't going to be talking about him if he was still in your apartment. "He left early in the morning. Anyway, how was the party?"

" _Not as good as yours, but I had fun_."

Then you heard in the background a voice you recognized asking about something in the fridge.

You gasped. "Wait, motherfucker! _Who_ is that?" you inquired.

He laughed. " _You didn't want to come, and, in my defense, I didn't know you knew each other_ " The smile on his voice was so evident.

"Yeah, as if that could stop you." This man. Of all the people in Eos. "My gods. Put him on the phone."

" _Wait a sec_ ," he chuckled. Muffled voices sounded on the other end of the line, but you distinguished a startled _what_ and some laughter from Xavier.

" _Oh-Hi_ ," he finally took the phone and hesitantly greeted you. " _I-I didn't know he was your friend, I swear. We just met at the party_."

"Prompto, what the hell are you doing there?" you asked pitching up your tone. "He's going to eat you and spit your bones."

" _Hey!_ " Xavier replied on the background. So, you were on speaker.

"Oh, shut up, you know is true," and you continued, "you don't go to your check-up because you're afraid of doctors, but you sleep with one? I don't get you, my friend."

He made some sort of laugh. " _I-I was gonna go to your office on Monday. But, please, don't be mad at me_."

You chuckled. "I'm not mad at you, I'm not your mom," you took the plate with your sandwich and put it on your lap. "Just be careful with _that man,_ " raising your voice with those final words.

" _Note taken_ ," he said with a more relaxed voice and you heard a tap on the phone. You weren't on speaker anymore. " _Hey, are you gonna be at the Citadel for the prince's arrival?_ "

"What? Is a national event or something?" you took a bite of your sandwich, trying to hold it together with one hand.

He chuckled. " _It seems, Iggy is like crazy with that_."

"Ignis goes crazy with everything," you said half chewing. "No, I guess I'll see him when he's already installed."

" _Okay, so I'll see you there then_." Noise of dishes and movement sounded in the background. Surely, they were preparing to eat something, too.

"Yeah, see you there," a drop of mayonnaise fell on your pants, as usual. Great. "Hey, put Xavier back on the phone."

" _Y-Yeah, sure. Bye_." You said goodbye and only heard some noises while cleaning your pants.

" _So_ -"

"Listen to me carefully, you moron," you interrupted Xavier immediately when he held the phone, putting on your best godfather's voice. "If you hurt Prompto in _any_ way, you're deadmeat, you hear me?"

For a beat there was only silence. Then he burst out laughing. " _Alright, alright. Don't worry. Since when are you the bad cop?_ "

"Since you messed with my cutest friend!" you quickly replied. "He's a sunshine and now you're going to ruin him."

" _Well, let me tell you something about what your sunshine did last night. He-_ "

"I don't want to know that! thank you," you cut him off before one of his awkwardly detailed stories began. "Just- be nice to him, okay?"

He chuckled. " _I was and I will be. Hey, I just called to check on you, but I see you're doing just fine._ "

"How cute," you said sarcastically after taking a sip of juice. "But yeah, I'm okay. I have to finish this."

" _Okay. I'll call you again later, I need to finish something here, too._ " You could hear the smirk in his voice.

He would never change. "You're disgusting. Bye."

" _Bye_ ," he said between a laugh and hang up.

After eating your healthy meal, you passed the rest of the afternoon planning the procedure along with the bioengineers on videoconference. You were busy, but not too busy to notice that Gladio hadn't even texted you in the whole day.

Not like you were expecting much. You left very clear that this wasn't a coming back, but after all you said _and did_ to each other last night, you really did expect something. Like... anything.

But nothing happened. Again.

So, leaving your phone aside you returned to your endeavor. Whatever, you had a lot of work ahead. The distraction was unwelcome.

<>

The entrance to the Citadel was more guarded than usual. After passing the main gate, you saw a few men stationed along the central plaza and the building's entrance. All wearing the uniform of the royal guard of Tenebrae.

So, the prince had probably already arrived.

You parked your car in the usual place and went inside, finding Ignis in the main hall.

“Morning,” you greeted him, gently touching his arm. The entrance seemed not to be the only busy place this morning. “What a hustle today, huh?”

“Good morning,” he smiled at your greeting. “Indeed. Fortunately, everything is set,” he said, giving a quick glance to everyone who went from one place to another. Some seemed nervous, others just looked strangely at the new guards.

“Is he here?” You started walking with him to one of the elevators. Anyhow, you had to work before going to meet the prince.

“Not yet,” he spoke as he pressed the up button. “But we're expecting his arrival at any moment.”

The elevator opened immediately. Upon entering, Ignis pressed the button for the floor where your consulting room was located and then the one for his floor, where his office was. It was really unfair that you couldn't meet more often when only a few floors separated you, but the encounters in the dining room were always nice.

“How are the preparations for the procedure going?” he peered down at you as you felt the gentle push down of the elevator rising.

“Great. We worked all weekend, but I think we have everything ready,” you said proudly, bringing your hands back as you watched the numbers on the led display. It really had been a hard work. Only the measurements of the prince's right arm and the stump, and some neuroconduction tests were missing to finish manufacturing his brand-new prosthetic arm. Details.

“Excellent,” the elevator _bing_ sounded when it reached your floor as he spoke. “I'll see you later then when I take you to meet him.”

“Okay,” you smiled as you went out, turning around. “Pick me up for lunch and then we'll meet your prince charming.”

He chuckled and put a hand on the door to keep it from closing. “A capital idea to go on a full stomach.”

That got a little laugh out of you. “You're already making me regret this, Scientia,” you said as you walked backwards, and he took his hand off the door, giving you a light smile.

“Too late, I'm afraid,” he waved at you as the doors closed and you returned the gesture, turning on your heels to head towards your office. If the prince was going to be as complicated as everyone apparently thought, you had to eat before. It wasn't a good idea to meet you when you were hungry.

Upon arriving at your office, after greeting Faye and settling in, you looked out the window as you put on your white coat. A part of the entrance could be seen from there. More glaives had arrived and were accommodating among Tenebrae's guards.

After such a long time working among royalty, you'd forgotten how difficult their security could be, especially now with the recent attack by the Empire and the arrival of one of its victims. Obviously, they had redoubled efforts to avoid surprises. You'd become used to many things here.

That's probably why Gladio had disappeared, you thought. You supposed that the marshal was giving them a hard time with that and you couldn't blame him. So, retreating from the window, you stretched. You would find out about the prince's arrival later.

The first patient in the morning was a glaive who came to her quarterly checkup. "Faye, let Crowe Altius in, please," you requested.

The glaive came in and you started your consultation. A nice girl. Great performance based on the history you could see in her records and very skilled with magic. Healthy woman in general, you didn't find anything in her exam that particularly caught your attention. So, you were ready to let her go.

"Doctor, can I ask you a little unofficial question?" she hesitantly asked, seated across from you with her hands resting on her knees.

"Of course," you answered as you stopped in your typing, detecting a hint of shame. You had an idea where this was going based on your experience. "What is worrying you?"

"Um..." she began, "it's something strange," she said relaxing just the slightest as she shifted on the chair. "I have this... discomfort when I pee."

"Oh," you said in realization, raising your brows a little. "Have you had urinary infections before?" You crossed your hands on the desk.

She looked at them thoughtfully. "Um... No, I don't think so."

"Have you used a new product in your shower or changed the material of your underwear?" You continued with your interrogation, looking for possible simple causes for her symptoms.

"No," she tried to keep remembering. "I think I keep using the same."

"Did you have sex recently? Maybe after some time without having it?" you asked naturally, and meeting your eyes, hers widened. Bingo.

She made an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, I had sex this weekend," her cheeks flushed slightly, making little eye contact. "Some time had passed."

Well, there were two of you. "Don't worry, it's normal for that to happen. However, let's do a test to be sure, okay?" you said smiling at her. These glaives, it seems that none were spared.

"Okay, thank you," she made a relieved smile.

"It's nothing," you closed her folder and sent the order to your assistant. "Stop by Faye and she'll give you instructions on how to collect the sample."

"Alright. Thanks, doctor," Crowe spoke as she got up from the chair.

You gave her a smile. "Take care. I'll see you soon." She nodded and left the office.

Surprisingly, something similar hadn't happened to you, considering that several weeks had passed since the last time you slept with someone. You'd been so immersed in a thousand things that you hadn't noticed how touch starved you were. But that had already been resolved.

You were about to call your next patient when you noticed there was movement at the main entrance. Looking out the window, you saw three cars parking in front of the main stairs and several of Tenebrae's guards making a kind of fence when they stopped.

A woman with dark gray hair was the first to get out of the first car and then two other men followed her. You couldn't see the car in the back, but after a few moments, when the woman approached the middle car, a tall man with silver hair got out of it with a white raincoat just over his shoulders and immediately went up the stairs.

You recognized the prince. He didn't make many public appearances, but you'd seen him a couple of times on tv and some newspaper photos. He also seemed to avoid all social events, so you'd never seen him in any dance or similar that had been offered in the Citadel before. A loner, maybe, you always thought. But who could blame him? You had to admit that sometimes you also grew tired of people.

You lost sight of him when he was halfway up the stairs, some men following him and others staying in the positions they'd held all morning. You wondered if they were going to have to be there during his entire stay.

Crossing your arms, you sighed. The tragedy of a man didn't belong only to that man. It was a snowball effect that always dragged many more. All of them there, at the mercy of the sun and the wind, far from home, protecting another wounded man who was seeking for relief.

War had many faces.

This was just one of the few you knew.

<>

"It'll be but a moment," Ignis addressed you before entering to announce you in the room where the prince was.

You stood outside in the hall, admiring the paintings on the walls and the beautiful bouquets of flowers that accompanied them. They'd arranged for him one of the best rooms in the Citadel outside the royal quarters, of course, as expected.

The men guarding the room didn't seem to pay attention to you. You entertained yourself with the idea of making some sudden movement or trying to scare them, but you knew they would be on you if you tried any surprise. You didn't want to find out, that wasn't professional either, so you just waited, swinging between your heels and toes, hands clasped behind and humming an old song.

Suddenly the door room opened and Ignis came out accompanied by the gray-haired woman you'd seen before. She was absolutely beautiful. No one could expect less from the likes of a prince.

"You may come in," Ignis spoke as the woman stared at you, though without intimidation.

"Thank you," you nodded, more at her, and she put a hand on her waist, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, giving you a small smile. And you entered.

You didn't know why you were feeling so nervous. Maybe it was Ignis' words that had predisposed you, or knowing that you'd never attended to any other member of royalty outside of King Regis, or the fact that if you failed in this your career would go overboard, although you knew it wouldn't happen.

You didn't know. And it didn't help that Prince Ravus was standing in front of the window, with his back to you, undeterred when you closed the door as you entered. His silver hair loose almost at shoulder level and his white coat covering his long figure.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," you swallowed your fears and greeted him, saying your name, with the same confidence with which you greeted all your patients. You never added "doctor" when introducing yourself.

He stiffed and turned his torso and face slightly but suddenly at the sound of your voice and stared at you for a couple of seconds with a light frown. You noticed the heterochromia and how his coat, barely on, didn't reveal any of his arms. Then he nodded and returned his gaze to the window.

You made a sigh that only you could hear. Maybe Ignis was right after all.

"Is the pain tolerable?" you asked.

He seemed to relax his shoulders just the slightest at your question, then looked briefly at some point over his shoulder. "Yes."

"Good." Overcoming the inexplicable discomfort of the meeting, you began. "You know I'm here to discuss your procedure. I don't know what information has been provided to you so I'm here to answer any questions you may have."

He didn't say a word for a few seconds. He seemed absorbed in whatever he was looking out the window, so much that you thought he wasn't going to talk. The sunlight made his hair shine, making it appear whiter than it was. You were preparing to ask some other question when he answered.

"I'm aware of the process and possible complications," he said. His voice was raspy and deep but serene. "What you wish to know is whether I'm willing to submit to it."

Straight to the point. Great. It caused you an imperceptible smile and eased your tension a little bit.

"Indeed," you nodded even though he didn't see it.

And another pause. Either he considered everything too much or he just enjoyed making people nervous. You just stared at him with your hands clasped in front of you. Maybe he wasn't sure yet. If he overthought each answer so hard, you couldn't imagine how much he should consider undergoing a procedure like this.

"I am," was his plain answer.

Another silent sigh of yours but you made a small smile this time. Now you could work.

"Very well," you said, more relaxed. "After some tests we'll be ready."

"When would it take place?" He quickly asked with his gaze always fixed on the horizon.

"If all the tests go well, we would do it on Thursday," you answered.

Then he went silent again. You didn't think he was anxious about the surgery, but maybe he was anxious about what would follow. It was time to try to find that common ground, so you continued with the calmest but most firm voice you had.

"I'm not going to lie and tell you that this will be an easy process, but I want you to know that my team and I will do our best to make it as easy as possible for you."

"That's condescending," he softly replied after a beat.

You only needed that phrase to realize that you were facing a strong and proud man, with a high self-esteem but with a great amount of low tolerance for frustration, for sure. And that could be a problem.

"I know it sounds condescending, but you'll see what I'm talking about in the next days to come," you said in the most empathetic way possible. In subsequent therapies was the success of the surgery. If he didn't do his part, it was going to be a sure failure.

He looked over his shoulder again, but this time his eyes did meet yours. You had a relaxed expression, even the smallest of the smiles was on your lips despite the knot in your stomach. All he could do was look at you for a second and turn around again.

"Now, if you'll allow me, I need to examine your arm," you spoke as you unclasped your hands, getting ready whether he agreed or refused.

He lowered his head only slightly and you saw how his shoulders went up and down with a sigh you couldn't hear. Then, after a moment, he moved his right arm over his left shoulder and grabbing the lapel of his coat he slowly removed it, pulling it to one side.

The left sleeve of his white shirt hung empty at his side, looking translucent from the light streaming through it from the window. You could notice the remaining severed limb just below the shoulder, as you'd seen in the reports. He laid his coat gently on one of the armchairs and began to unbutton his shirt with his one hand, always with his back to you.

You took advantage of that moment to take a pair of gloves from the box that had been left on a may table on the other side of the room, in the spot where the therapies would take place and then walked towards him. When you reach his side, you saw that he'd removed his shirt leaving only the right sleeve that had his buttoned cuff on. Someone should've helped him button it up. And someone would have to help him unbutton it, too.

"Allow me," you said softly with some sort of light, encouraging smile, looking right up to his face. He was looking thoughtfully at his cuff and his mismatched eyes found yours when you spoke.

Then he nodded slightly, frowning, and stretched his arm just a little more for you to do so.

"This way you'll be more comfortable," you said as you gently unbuttoned it and removed his shirt by softly pulling on the sleeve. “There.” You put it delicately next to the coat he'd left on the armchair. Now he was just wearing his trousers and his sleeveless undershirt.

“Sit down, please,” you pointed with your hand to the overstuffed couch behind him.

He sat upright to one side, resting his right forearm on his leg and staring straight ahead. You sat next to him, then put on your gloves and prepared to remove the bandage that covered his stump.

“I'm going to check the condition of the wound,” you spoke. He just blinked.

Uncovering the wound, you examined it. It was healing right with no signs of infection. The stitches looked good and he didn't seem to suffer with your touches. Maybe his pain threshold was high. An amputation was always very painful and this one was too recent.

You nodded in approval and he turned his gaze to you.

“It's in perfect condition to perform the surgery,” you met his eyes with a light smile. Then you took the bandage and started to carefully place it over the wound as he turned his face away again.

“The bioengineer will be here in about an hour to take some measurements, if you agree,” you said as you got up from the chair and took the shirt you'd left on the armchair. “He will measure your right arm so that the left doesn't look discordant and the remaining limb so that it fits perfectly.” You held the shirt up with both hands in front of you to help him put it on.

He looked up at you and clenched his jaw. “I'd rather put on just my coat if someone else is coming after.”

That was just the answer you were looking for. It was an incredibly significant little sign of cooperation.

“Okay,” You said turning around to leave the shirt and take the coat, smiling slightly, then lifting the coat in front of you like you did before.

He stared at you and then hesitantly got up from the chair. Then, without leaving your eyes, standing in front of you, he frowned again. “I trust that this allow me to keep carry on my duty.”

A motivation. You could work with that. So, you smiled at him.

“You protected your family and lost an arm because of it,” you said as you stood behind him and lifted the coat further to place it on his shoulders. Then you came back to face him again, adjusting the lapels so that it would fit well. “But they still have you here.”

Taking a step back, your kind smile remained. His heterochromatic eyes locked on yours and you saw how he lightened his features. Just a man, it was all you saw.

“I'll see you tomorrow, Your Highness,” you nodded at him and headed to the door.

Turning to close it as you went out, you found that he'd turned in your direction with a neutral expression on his face.

And there it was.

The face of war you knew, this time represented by a handsome royalty man.

You smiled at him again and left.

There was no difference anyway. In the end they were all unfortunate men who needed a little push to continue. And, for the Astrals, you were going to give him that push. Whether he liked it or not.

<>

A catchy rock song played on your radio as you sang it at the top of your lungs on your way home. Tapping the wheel with your fingers and making some sort of headbanging, your falsetto was interrupted by the _beep_ of an incoming call to your cell phone connected to the Bluetooth of your car.

"Hello?" you answered while turning a corner.

" _Hey, gorgeous_ ," the hoarse voice echoed throughout your car.

So finally, he decided to show up.

"Hi," you greeted him with just a little excitement. "Late from work?"

" _A little bit_." You could hear the passing of cars in the background and noises from the street. " _This prince thing was kinda crazy_."

"I know. I met him today," you spoke as you looked at your side mirror so you could pass someone who didn't seem to want to get anywhere.

" _Yeah. I saw you at the guest’s quarters_."

"You did? Why didn't you come to say hi?" You knew the incoming answer.

" _Didn't want to bother you_." There it was. " _Besides, I would've given you a big kiss. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of the prince's men_."

You made a small chuckle. "Are you going home?" You asked him as you rounded the corner of your block. And, surprise, he was there, in front of your doorway with the phone in his ear.

" _Not really,_ " he said as you saw him grinning.

You couldn't help but smile. It had bothered you that he hadn't shown any signs of life in almost three days, although you didn't either, but that bastard always managed to make you forget that you were mad at him.

"Too bad because I don't have any room to spare," you said after braking in front of him, lowering the window.

He walked over and rested a hand on the roof of the car with a smirk on his face. "Maybe we can share yours."

"Wait," you said between a chuckle and parked the car. It was time to relax.

"I bet you had quite a day today," you spoke as both entered the building and went up the stairs.

"Yeah," he looked a little tired. His steps sounded heavier than usual. "Guess you too."

"Kind of," you said reaching your apartment and then opening the door, leaving your keys on the table as you entered and taking off your jacket. "But everything turned out well."

He followed you, closing the door behind him. Then, suddenly taking you by the waist, he pulled you back to him and, brushing your hair to the side, began to pepper kisses in your neck.

"It can get better," he whispered again your skin and bit at your lobe, his wet and hot tongue playing right behind it as his hands circled your stomach.

You smiled and let your head fall back slightly as you raised one hand to touch his neck and the other caressed his arm across your abdomen. One of his hands slipped under your blouse and traced figures on your sensitive skin making you tremble under the delicate touch.

His beard tickled your neck which made you giggle, and his hand continued to rise further on its way under the fabric finding a breast, squeezing it lightly above the bra.

Your breathing began to get labored to the rhythm of his light panting in your ear, anticipating, matching the beating of your heart that increased its pace. Taking his large hand that was still caressing the surroundings of your navel, you pushed it under your pants and underwear, his fingers finding your folds that were starting to get wet.

He let out a low grunt at the touch that resonated in your back and you gasped, feeling the movements of his hand in your core and holding you closer to him. Then he withdrew it and took you by the hip turning you towards him, his warm lips smashing yours, his tongue finding refuge in your mouth in a passionate kiss.

Slowly sliding his hands down your lower back, your butt and then firmly grasping your thighs you understood the message and sought support from his broad shoulders. He easily lifted you off the ground and you grabbed his waist with your legs, feeling him already hard against your crotch.

Then he pinned you against the wall. His tongue tracing wet paths from your mouth, passing through your jaw to land on your neck, where his teeth bit at your hungry skin and his tongue softened the burning place right after, eliciting sweet moans from you. His strong grip on your thighs and its hard length pressing tantalizingly against your aching core increasing your eagerness for him.

"Take me to the bed," you panted, your hands tangled in his hair and digging in his nape with each teasing movement from him.

He kissed you again and your arms grabbed his shoulders as he pulled you away from the wall and, with you clenched to him, he took them both to your room. He knew the way well.

On reaching the bed, he held you on the back to give you stability while your knees landed on the mattress. At warp speed he took off your blouse and you stripped him of his leather jacket and his tank top. You scratched his strong chest as you bit your lower lip and a deep moan left him. His lips took you again in a fierce kiss as he squeezed your breasts and ran down your sides to reach the clasp of your pants while you, following his lead, cleverly unclasped his belt and unzipped his trousers, then both quickly taking them off and tossing them aside, in an urgent need to feel each other.

You pulled him to you in bed, both on your knees running your hands through each other's bodies, impossibly close as your mouths melted. Then, sliding your fingers across his chest and abs, you drew your hand under his boxers and took his large member in your hand, teasing his tip that was wet with the precum already sprouting, then slowly pumping it up and down drawing breathy moans from him.

"Take this off," he said impatiently as he slid your panties down your thighs. You lay down on the bed to finish taking them off while he quickly got rid of his underwear. Just the sight of his size was enough to make you crave.

Then he climbed onto the bed and settled between your legs, licking your neck and that spot between it and your shoulder. His body heat unbearable against you, the tip of his cock teasing achingly your eager entrance and his hand running down your abdomen to find place between your folds.

You whined at his touch, his fingers rubbing gently but firmly at your clit while he sucked one of your nipples.

"Gladio, please," you pleaded while one of your hands gripped the sheet and the other tugged at his hair. He looked up and fixed his beautiful amber eyes on yours.

"Say it," he said breathily as he buried his fingers inside you, curling them while his thumb grazed your clit. You whimper and arched beneath him, the teasing being too much at this point. "Say it," he kept punishing you with wanting.

"Please, fuck me," you said between a moan and he withdrew his fingers. Passing an arm behind you, he lifted you slightly, dragging you towards the head of the bed.

"Come here," his voice huskier than usual, painted with lust. On his knees, he took one of the condoms that had been on your table from the other night and took it out of its packaging. Then you took it and placing it on its tip you began to slide it, feeling all the hardness of his amazing lenght. He moaned with the entire motion. Staying on his knees he leaned towards you, semi-sitting on the pillows with your back against the headboard and your legs spread for him to take you as he wished.

He took his cock in one hand and guided it to your entrance. Feeling the painful anticipation, you grabbed hold of his arms and burst into delight as he filled you in with his length inch by inch. He knew he should give you time to adjust to him, but you just wanted him all.

You both groaned and gasped when your pelvises met. Feeling him heavenly hard inside, you tightened your legs around him and he began to slide in and out in a slow pace.

Between slick motions you started to feel how he was hitting every right spot. Your arms wrapped around his neck while he supported himself with one hand on the headboard and with the other held you in place by your hip. His lips on yours stifling your moans, filling your mouth with wet words.

With your gasps blurring and bodies beginning to sweat, he began to quicken his pace. You didn't know if it was because of being spread around him, for his pelvis deliciously brushing your clit or for feeling how he caressed every inch of your inner walls, your climax came embarrassingly quick. Letting out a loud cry and digging your nails in his shoulders, you came around his cock. He slowed down a bit to let you consume you into your orgasm as you moaned breathily, and he groaned.

Increasing his speed again you felt how you were still contracted around him, and he quivered with the pleasure. Unable to contain himself, his skin became sweatier, his grunts louder, and his thrusts more powerful. Beginning an unsteady pace and gripping your hip tighter, he buried his face in the crook of your neck and moaned deeply, spilling inside of you, filling you as deep as he could with his final thrusts. A low grunt left him and a whimper came out from you. 

Both remained like that for some beats, panting together for the quick but feverous action, your fingers scratching idly his sweaty scalp and his hand caressing your thigh. His lips scattering kisses in your jaw.

He barely moved away from you and after looking you briefly in the eyes he kissed you. Tender, sweet, the opposite of the Gladio that just took you seconds ago. Your legs still around him and he still inside you, you ran your fingers through his cheek and jaw, scratching his beard. He smiled and kissed the palm of your hand.

Still catching your breath, you detached and lay down on the bed together after he took off the condom. You laid your head on his chest and he pulled you closer with his arm around you. Listening to how his heart began to decrease its accelerated frequency you also gathered yourself.

He was gently caressing your arm and your back as you traced his abs with your fingers when his cell phone rang somewhere in the room. It sounded muffled, surely inside his trousers.

He turned his head in the direction of the sound and gently withdrawing the arm around you, got up grunting. Sitting on the edge of the bed, with his beautiful back tattooed towards you, he grabbed his trousers and took the cell phone out of one of its pockets, staring at it for a second, then silencing it and leaving it on the table before lying down next to you again.

It was almost midnight. You thought the only person who could be calling him at that hour would be Noctis or one of them.

"Is everything okay?" you asked lying on your side.

"Yeah," he said as he held you again next to him. Then the _beep_ of a voice mail sounded but he didn't flinch.

You were too tired to pay more attention to it, so you lay down on his chest again. His heart was racing, but not as fast as before. Then he turned to face you and wrapped you completely, covering you with both arms and with his whole body against you. One kiss on your forehead, then on the lips. His body was warm, more than usual, so much so that you felt how it enveloped you, making you drowsy.

Everything was silence and you only heard his breathing. He let out a soft sigh and your senses went away with it.

Until he woke you up again.

<>

"What the hell?" You asked yourself while you saw from the car the great amount of people that crowded the hospital's main entrance. Then your phone rang.

" _Don't you even think about entering through the front door_ ," Xavier spoke before you could even greet him.

"What's going on? Who are those?" You said while taking a detour to avoid passing in front of the hospital, as usual, to be able to get to the parking lot.

" _The media is crazy about the prince's surgery_ ," he sounded a bit upset, " _if they catch you, you won't make it here_."

Within all the preparations, you never considered that the press wanted to be so aware of the procedure. You'd seen a couple of reporters outside the Citadel on the day of the prince's arrival and heard a brief news about it but nothing like this.

"Okay, I'm circling the block. Did you have to enter him through the basement, too?"

" _Yeah_ ," he scoffed, " _you should've seen his face. He was amused_."

You laughed; he sure was. "I know you two will become good friends. I'll be right there."

" _Okay, everything is ready,_ " he was smiling, " _be careful_ ," and then he hung up.

The day had come. All tests had been satisfactory, the arm had been correctly fabricated, and the prince was already in the operating room ready to put it on. You couldn't be more excited, and terrified, for what would be the next approximately 8 to 10 hours of surgery. If everything went well.

You'd had to take care of several things before the surgery, so Xavier had been preparing everything for your arrival.

"Good morning, everyone," you said upon entering the room, already changed in your uniform and ready to start.

Everyone greeted you except Prince Ravus, what a surprise, who was on the stretcher being prepared by one of the nurses. The aide dressed you and then you went to greet your patient.

"So, here it is, Your Majesty. Your new arm," you addressed the prince by showing him the prosthesis on the small table covered with sterile cloth. A great custom bioengineering job, made of a great metal alloy that would allow him to have a strong arm, the gods knew he needed it, and with which he could have an almost entirely normal life.

He looked at it for a moment and then at you without a word, as usual. You were getting used to it.

Xavier stood in front of you on the other side of the stretcher. "Anytime, princess," he smiled with his eyes over his mask and you could hear the malicious tone in his voice. The prince frowned at him and then shot the same look at you.

"Long story," you addressed the prince and then gave Xavier your best unamused gaze.

"Alright," you said checking that everything was ready. "Let's get started."

The nurses took up positions and the anesthesiologist began his work. You could see how the prince let out one of his inaudible sighs looking up at the ceiling, so you put a gloved hand on his shoulder and leaned slightly towards him.

"Everything will be fine," you said sweetly, and he met your eyes, "I'll see you soon."

You couldn't tell if there was fear or plea in his eyes, you just knew you would never see that look again. The anesthesia began to take effect and his mismatched eyes stayed locked on yours, blinking slowly until they closed.

You stared at his relaxed face for a few seconds. He looked so young.

"Lovely prince, huh?" Xavier said when he saw that he was asleep.

"I think I like him better than you," you smiled as you received the scalpel.

"Well I don't blame you," he directed his gaze to the prince's torso. "Just look at that chest. Who would say that royalty is in such a good shape?”

You laughed. But he was so right. "Thank the gods that he's not awake to hear you. Now get to work."

Ray put on a batch of his classics again and you didn't argue with him this time, you needed all the concentration and calm on this day.

Something was telling you that taking 10 hours of surgery to place a biomechanical arm was going to be the easiest part of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing smut is quite difficult, as I learned, but I hope it had been decent. If you're still here, thanks for reading. Thanks for the kudos and comments, I'll continue with this nonsense for you.


	3. But in your hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter maybe a little too sweetened.

"It's amazing," she said.

"Yeah," you agreeded. "I'd kill for one right now."

"And is so big."

"Oh, don't even say it," you smiled and closed your eyes, leaning back on the chair. The white lights from the ceiling illuminated the place and made you see a reddish color through your closed eyelids.

"What are you both rambling about?" Xavier asked when he entered the room, walking slowly, and sat heavily in the other chair next to you, handling you a cup of coffee.

"About that altissian restaurant in Crepera Street," you spoke as you received it, straightening up again. "I'm craving for that soup."

He hummed and you took a sip. "We should go one of these days," and putting his feet up in the chair in front of him he continued. "Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll call you if-"

"He's waking up," the head nurse interrupted him leaning a little forward in her chair and your gaze snapped to the prince's bed.

You got up quickly and went to his side. He blinked lazily and his brows made a slight frown as he made slow movements of his head. Sure, feeling dizzy. You'd been waiting all the time in the recovery room for him to wake up, accompanied by the nurse and Xavier. An old and bad habbit to make sure your patients were good after the long procedures.

"Hey," you said softly, and you could swear you saw him smile lightly for a second. The anesthesia sure was hitting him hard, but that made you smile, nonetheless.

Then, taking his flesh hand in yours and barely squeezing it, you kept talking quietly to help him get back. "Take it easy." Waking up from anesthesia used to be unpleasant and you knew from your own experience that having someone by your side was helpful.

He started to come to his senses and his breathing became a little faster with the momentary disorientation. You were 90% sure that he was remembering the last time he woke up on a stretcher... without one of his arms. "It's okay," you continued sweetly and without realizing it you began to gently caress his hair. It always worked. "You're okay."

Then his breathing began to calm down, and, blinking a little faster, his eyes finally focused. On your face.

"Welcome back," you said smiling at him, removing your hand from his hair and releasing his hand from yours. He just blinked at you a few more times and then, like remembering it, turned to look at his left arm. "All went well. Now it's yours."

He fixed his gaze on his sleek new metal prosthetic. It really looked good and worked even better. The tests had been satisfactory during the surgery and in a couple of days he would be ready to start handling it. You were somehow excited, but his face was impassive, just running his eyes over it.

"Don't try to move it," you noticed that he frowned suddenly. "It won't do anything for now. You'll learn how to use it in the next days."

Then he blinked once more and rolled his eyes at you, looking at your face as he'd looked at his arm a few moments ago. You realized that you must have looked terrible, with your uniform still on, your surgical cap with moogle motifs and the accumulated fatigue of more than 12 hours of non-stop work. So, you unconsciously evaded his gaze and moved away from the stretcher a bit.

"We're going to move you to the room so you can rest tonight, okay?" You smoothed awkwardly the front of your uniform in a failed attempt to look better. "And tomorrow, if everything is right, you can return to the Citadel."

He looked at you with lazy eyes for a second and directed them to the two who'd been accompanying you in the room. They were still sitting there, in silence, Xavier drinking his coffee almost asleep in the chair and the nurse standing up to prepare everything for the transfer.

So, you remembered something very important that was mandatory upon awakening from anesthesia. "Are you thirsty?" you asked him.

He turned his head ever so slightly and met your eyes. Then briefly closing his, he nodded.

You positioned yourself at the head of his stretcher and operating the lever started to gently raise it to an angle that was comfortable for him to drink. He grimaced slightly from the possible pain that the change in position might have caused him, but he recovered immediately.

"Sorry," you said almost in a whisper. Then you took the jug that was on the side table and poured some water into a glass. "Here," handling it to him.

He took it with his right hand and drank it in long sips, gesturing with each one for the sure discomfort when passing through the throat due to intubation during anesthesia. When he finished you served him more, drinking it more easily this time.

He didn't look at you as he did so, his eyes fixed on the sheet that covered him. You watched him already sleepy with your eyelids starting to get heavy.

"Do you want some more?" You asked him while you took the empty glass from his hand. He sighed in relief and shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. "Okay," you said putting the glass on the table. Even your voice was already starting to sound tired.

Then the nurse came, accompanied by the stretcher-bearer, to take the prince to his temporary room. You were staring at him for no reason, maybe it was the sleep, when he met your eyes and your phone rang in your pocket, startling you. You took it out and saw the photo of Gladio on your screen.

"Hi," putting the phone in your ear, you evaded his gaze again, briefly, just to turn to look at him one more time. He kept his eyes on you as the nurse said something to him.

" _Hi, babe_ ," you paused at the pet name. He hasn’t called you that in a long time, but you decided not to say anything.

Walking away some steps from the prince, you continued with the conversation, but not before giving him a half smile as the aide unlocked the stretcher so that it could be moved. " _How was the surgery_?"

"Great, everything went well," you spoke as you crossed your other arm under your chest and walked idly around the room.

" _Are you going home_?" Gladio asked with hoarse voice. He sounded sleepy, probably already in his place with a book closed at his side.

You couldn't help but want to have your head on his lap right now, falling asleep as he read you a few lines from those romance novels he liked to read over and over again. "No. It's too late and I'm too tired to drive. I'm going to sleep here." You said hoarsely too, as the prince passed in front of you transported on the stretcher, pushed by the assistant. He followed you with his tired eyes and you smiled lightly at him until he went through the door. "And so, I can get up early to check on him, too."

Gladio hummed and you went to sit next to Xavier. " _Alright. I'll call you later then_."

"Okay," you yawned. "Have a good night."

" _You too_ ," and he hung up.

Seated next to Xavier, you sighed. Both in silence, exhausted, he leaned back in the chair and you with your elbows on your knees staring at the floor and at nothing. Then you took the cup of coffee that you'd left on the floor. It was barely warm, but you still drink it in a single sip.

"That won't let you sleep," Xavier said staring at the ceiling. His arms hanging at his sides.

You laughed weakly. "Watch me." And got up heavily, resting your hands on your knees for support. Then you kicked him in the leg. "Let's go."

He got up with the same effort, grunting as he did it, and walked with you towards the door, putting an arm over your shoulders.

Walking down the hall, shuffling, you watched around you as everything moved slowly at that hour. Few working, most in silence or speaking quietly, most of the rooms already with the lights off. The hustle and bustle of the day left behind to make way for the almost always calm night.

You arrived at the doctors' room and each one of you crashed on a bed without saying a word, just grunting in tiredness. You lay on your back and opening your eyes for a moment, you thought about the prince. It had been a long day for both of you, although most of it he'd been unconscious. But he'd been through so much in such a short time.

The attack had been just over a week, his amputation, the long journey here and now again in a surgery room. He must have been exhausted as well. Not only physically, but mentally.

Perhaps the remaining effect of the anesthesia could help him rest. He needed it.

You wished he could sleep too.

<>

After waking up and remembering that you were still in the hospital, you sat on the edge of the bed. Xavier was still sleeping in front of you, snoring, so you took your phone and went through the notifications of the messages you had from the previous day, but only answered the one from Ignis.

Ignis: _How did the surgery turn out?_

You: _Now you can call him Ravus Ironside_

And you put your phone back. It was early so you went for your clothes to change after taking a well-deserved shower. Your phone chimed again in your pocket.

Ignis: _That's quite accurate. I'm glad to know that_

You: _Yeah, he's okay. I'll call you later to arrange his return_

Ignis: _Of course, I'll be waiting_

You: _Thanks_

Ignis was indeed a morning person. Nobody, in their right mind, would respond to a message this early.

After bathing and composing the mess you were from the day before, you decided to go for a coffee. And maybe bring one to the prince. You took the two cups from the machine and went to his room, ready to see him in his bed with his forever frown, complaining about the sure pain he must have been feeling and harassing you with a batch of silent sighs.

"Good morning," you said entering the room at the end of the hall where he was staying.

"Morning, doctor, " the gray-haired woman greeted you from the sofa where she had surely spent the night. Fuck. You had completely forgotten about his partner and only brought two cups of coffee. Now you would run out of yours.

To your surprise, the prince was standing by the bed with his arm being held by a sling to support the weight, albeit light, as it healed. He just nodded at you in greeting.

You decided to play it cool. "I don't know if you like it, but I brought you some coffee," and with absolute sadness inside, you offered them both cups.

"He doesn't drink coffee, but I'll have this one," the woman said quickly as she took one of the cups from your hand. You kept your hand outstretched, a bit stunned for a second looking at her, who started drinking it without wasting time as if she had been asking for it. This didn't go as you expected, but at least you had your coffee.

"I'll wait outside," she said as she walked towards the door with the coffe in hand.

"No, it's not necesary," you quickly replied. "You can stay here if you want." It had been rude enough to forget her presence and not give her a single news of the prince's health from the day before.

She looked at you strangely, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to," she said and smirked heading to the door.

What a strange couple, you thought. With questioning eyes, you turned to look at the prince and he was gaving you a flat look. Now you didn't understand anything, but you got it was none of your bussiness. You'd come here for him.

"Could you rest last night?" you asked, schooling your expression and turning to face him, holding your cup in one hand.

"Barely," he answered. And you could notice it. His eyelids slightly puffy and the whites of his eyes a bit red were hiding that piercing gaze of his.

"Are you feeling pain?" was your first concern.

"No."

Well, that was a relief. He would get over the discomfort soon and could get used to his new arm. "You can rest at the Citadel," you said, "I know that sleeping here is not easy." You liar. Last night you'd fallen unconscious there as if you'd been hit in the head. But he sure wasn't used to sleep in a hospital.

He looked briefly at you and then sat on one of the armchairs, slowly, keeping his left shoulder stiff to avoid pain. You were preparing to ask him how he felt when the people in charge of delivering breakfast came in, saying hello, with his special menu. At seeing them you greeted and brought the rolling table closer to him. They left then a cup of tea, sugar, some chopped fruit on a plate, two slices of bread with two small containers of butter and jam, and scrambled eggs with what appeared to be some spices. Simple.

He immediately took the container of sugar and with his only hand he poured not one, not two, but 3 tablespoons into the tea. You looked at him as he did so, taking a cup of your bitter, unsweetened coffee. Thank gods he hadn't received it; he would have spat it out for sure.

"I hope your family isn't prone to diabetes," you said holding your cup close to your mouth and then taking another sip.

He didn't look up from his cup of tea. "Not that I'm aware of," he spoke as he stirred it.

You fought a smile taking another long sip from your acerbic elixir. Interesting contrast that he liked such sweet things when his face always seemed to have sucked on a lemon. He even frowned drinking his glucose cup, for gods' sake.

Finishing your coffee, you decided that you would let him have his quiet breakfast, he didn't need help. "I came to see how you were, so I'm going to-"

The sound of screamings and hubbub seemed to come from the hallway. You walked towards the door and, noticing how the noise was approaching, you accelerated your pace. Upon reaching the door of the room you saw the gray-haired woman who was already posted in front, so you peeked in and briefly discovered a man running down the hallway being chased by security guards who were yelling at him.

"Close it!" the woman raised her voice addressing you. You immediately took a step back and slammed the door, locking it right after. You gaped and stared at the door, listening to the chaos coming from outside.

Lots of screams were heard and suddenly there was a loud dry sound of something hitting the floor, followed by a man's groan and pleading. You assumed the runner had been took down. _Just one_ he said, _just one_ , and you heard how the guards rebuked him. _Stand still_ they yelled, _you thought you were too smart_ said the other, and you heard something that you thought was the chuckle of the woman. The screams then became voices and the commotion began to recede, slowly echoing down the hall.

Still petrified behind the door you turned to look at the prince who was staring at the same spot as you. He'd left his cup on the table and his right hand was resting on his knee.

"It's safe," the voice of the woman sound muffled behind the door. Your gaze went to it and you opened.

"What the hell happened?" you asked her immediately with questioning expression.

"A journalist tried to sneak in," she answered entering the room, then turning to address the prince. "It seems they're desperate to meet your new friend," she smirked.

The prince gave her an unamused look and went back to his breakfast taking the fork and carving the fruit.

"Need a hand with that?" she mocked, and he glared at her. It was a joke you'd thought about but not for a moment did you consider playing it. You weren't that close to him, so you suppressed with all your might a fit of laughter. Yes, you could be mean sometimes, but most of your patients found that fun and helped them cope with stress a bit. _If life gives you lemons_... You weren't sure the prince was that kind of patient, but you liked her.

She grinned then. "Everything is under control. I'll be outside," and walked towards the door. You decided that it was time to get the prince out of there, so you followed her.

"I'll arrange your transfer to the Citadel right now," you said to him. He nodded and continued drinking his cup of liquid sugar. Then you went out and caught up with her in the hallway, walking by her side.

"Hey, doc," she talked first, "you're going with us to the Citadel, right?" gaving you a sideglance. On the hallway floor were pieces of something broken and a strap.

"Of course," you answered trying not to step on them and she sighed in relief, looking back at the front again.

"Good. I don't think I can handle him alone in this state."

"Don't worry," you said as you waved to another of the doctors on the floor. Everyone seemed to begin to resume their work while whispering about what happened. "I'll teach you how to take care of him now that you stay together at the Citadel."

She laughed then and you turned your head to look at her, wrinkling your eyebrows. "I'm not staying with him," she said amused.

You wrinkled deeper. "Aren't you his...?"

"Shiva don't allow it!" she chuckled. Arching your brows in realization you returned your gaze to the hallway. You've been wrong. "No," she continued with a smile, "I'm like his bodyguard." And now you figured out who had tackled the journalist.

"Sorry for the assumption," you said between a small laugh. Good that the misunderstanding hadn't gone further.

"No problem," she stopped on the way and extended a hand to you. "I'm Aranea by the way." You smiled and shook her hand saying your name. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go scold the two idiots who couldn't do their job."

"Sure," you chuckled and nodded. And she walked through the doors of the inpatient area.

Immediately, you called Ignis and told him what had happened, so without wasting time he sent the transport to transfer the prince.

You couldn't understand why the press seemed so obsessed with the prince's new arm. It could be good publicity, yes, but that was definitely something you didn't want and didn't need.

This was quickly becoming your most peculiar case so far. But you were having some fun anyway.

<>

"I had no idea you were together again," Ignis said as he sat down in one of the armchairs in the little and beautiful coffee room in the guest's quarters of the Citadel.

"We're not," you corrected as you followed him. "We're just seeing what happens."

Leaving the hospital with the prince had been discreet and unobtrusive, except for one clever and lucky photographer who noticed the common car coming out of the parking lot and managed to snap a photo of the prince out the window. You hoped he hadn't caught much. Fortunately, he was now in his room under the protection of the security of the Citadel and his men. And his bold bodyguard, of course.

"He hadn't mentioned anything," Ignis continued with a slight frown on his face, gloved hands clasped over his crossed legs and his gaze directed to the table.

"I asked him not to," you spoke crossing your arms and leaning more in the back of the chair. "You know, just in case it doesn't work. I don't want it to be uncomfortable for everyone."

Ignis hummed and went silent for a moment. You wondered how he always seemed so well groomed no matter what time of day. At this time in the afternoon your hair was already a mess and you didn't even know where your jacket was. He in his spotless shirt and pristine shoes looked fresh out of the shower.

Then he frowned deeper and changed his position leaning towards you with his elbows resting on his knees. "I'm afraid I'm crossing a line and it's not my call, but-"

He was interrupted when the door to the living room opened and Noctis entered followed by Gladio. Ignis sighed and leaned back in the chair. You were left hanging but couldn't help noticing the slight smile on Noctis's face as he sat down in the chair next to you.

"So? When is she going to arrive?" you playfully asked.

"Monday," Noctis replied quickly without looking up from his phone.

That brought out a small smile to you, he tapped nervously and Ignis turned to look at him with a small upward curve at the corner of his lips. "Hm, someone's excited," you smirked.

He looked at you over the phone, unable to avoid a lopsided smile and a small blush on his cheeks. Cute.

"I'm concerned about his care these days," you said as you looked at one of the figures on the coffee table. A beautiful griffon carved out of wood. "He didn't accept the day and night nurses."

"I'm not surprised," Ignis spoke as he crossed his legs again. "But I'm sure Aranea will suffice until Lady Lunafreya arrives."

Perhaps, but you thought about what she told you about not being able to _handle him alone in this state_. So, you didn't want to take risks. "I think I'm going to stay here this weekend, just in case." And Gladio turned to look at you right away from his place with an expression you couldn't quite read but decide to not pay attention to.

Ignis made a light chuckle and you gave him a brief flat look. You knew what was funny to him, he'd already warned you that this was going to happen. But what else could you do? Most of your patients always stayed in the hospital for a while and had family and friends to care for them. He was alone. Or at least he would be for the weekend until his sister arrived. Plus, he was the freaking prince of Tenebrae, the second most prominent patient you've ever had. If something happened to him, who would they blame? No, that was a chance you weren't going to take. Anyway, it was weekend and your only plan was to take some rest. Again.

"Laugh as much as you want," you adressed Ignis, "you're going to have to put up with me here for two days. I can be worse than the prince."

He gave a you a smile and adjusted his glasses by sliding them over the bridge of his nose. "I can handle that." Then you grinned. At least you were going to be able to annoy him for a while and maybe end that conversation that had been interrupted.

Gladio didn't say a word, but he frowned, leaning against one of the walls of the room with arms crossed over his chest. You didn't even want to ask him what he was thinking, you already knew.

"Well, I'm going to check on him," you said getting up from the chair. "The effect of the medication must already be passing."

"I go with you," Gladio spoke, withdrawing from the wall. It was going to be one of those conversations.

You both left while Ignis and Noctis stayed in the small coffee room. The way from there to the quarters where the prince was staying was short so Gladio wasted no time.

Walking by your side, he asked. "Are you really gonna stay all weekend in the Citadel for the prince?"

Ah shit, here we go again.

"I've been away from home longer for patients who aren't royalty." Your voice was becoming to being splashed with irritation. He hummed and then let out a sigh.

"I'm just saying it's not your obligation," he mused.

"Of course, it is!" You halted right outside the door of the prince's rooms and turned around to face Gladio. It was incredible that he didn't understand what this meant. If it didn't go well, goodbye to everything. So now it was your turn to sigh. "I'm not going to have this argument with you again," you spoke crossing your arms over your chest.

"We're not gonna," he said walking slowly towards you and wrapped his arms around your waist. You slowly put your hands on his chest and then he leaned his forehead against yours. "Just come with me for a while before I can't see you over the weekend anymore."

That wasn't a bad plan. You could just escape for a while to his rooms and then go back to your work. No victims. You smiled at the thought.

"You know what?" you began a bit more relaxed, "that would be-"

"Doc, good timing," Aranea spoke behind you as she opened the room's door and you turned your head to her after squeezing your eyelids. It seems like everyone enjoyed interrupting you today. "I was going to look for you right now. Sorry," she said making some kind of sheepish smile. "He's in much pain."

You returned your gaze to Gladio who was frowning at her, but he didn't let go of you. Good timing indeed. "Sorry," you said softly to him, slightly raising the inner corner of your brows in apology. You really hated when this happened.

He returned his eyes to you and let out a heavy sigh, slowly removing his hands from your waist and leaving them hanging at his sides. "I know."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," you said as you dropped yours down his chest and backed away.

"You better," he sadly smiled, and you entered the room cursing the gods for the moment Gladio decided to return, just now that you seemed to have no time for anything. Cursing the Empire, for having decided to attack and hurt the second most important person in the second most powerful nation after Lucis. And cursing yourself, for feeling responsible for someone for whom you surely weren't, but who you felt you could not abandon in his time of need.

Maybe you were being selfish. With Gladio, with your friends, your family and everyone who cared about you. Even with yourself. You were being selfish, and you were taking refuge in your duty.

And how to deal with it when you saw him there, sitting on the edge of the bed, grimacing with pain. If Aranea was going to look for you it was because his pain was surely unbearable. And who else was there to help him but you.

So, you took out one of the powerful painkillers that you had brought with you indicated precisely for this moment and with a glass of water in the other hand, you offered it to him. "Take this," you said in low voice.

The phantom limb pain could be really cruel. He could be feeling even the same sensation as when he was injured in the attack. He was a very strong man, but his pain right now must have been overwhelming.

He looked at the pill and shook his head, clenching his jaw. With the other hand he gripped the edge of the mattress tightly and his forehead was beginning to show tiny beads of sweat.

"This pain will become milder over time until it disappears," you said at his side with the pill still in your hand, "but for now this is the only way to bear it."

The spasm of pain seemed to subside for a moment and allowed him to speak. "I don't want to depend on it," he said a little agitated.

"You won't," you continued, withdrawing your hand a little bit, "this is temporary."

He briefly clenched his eyes and jaw again, making a short grunt. This part was always difficult to deal with, when patients refused painkillers for fear of not being able to quit.

Daringly, you sat next to him on the bed and looked at his face. The line of his cheek and his jaw hardened, the hair falling in thin strands on the forehead, the tense muscles of the neck.

"Let me help you," you said quietly. "Why do you have to be in pain when there's a way to relieve it?"

And he opened his eyes, breathing labored. Turning his head slowly he met your eyes narrowing, they were shiny, a bit red. He seemed so tired from the night before without rest and now having to endure immense pain. With your eyes you begged him to take it, it was all you could do for him right now, so you reached out your hand again with the pill in it.

He seemed to consider it for a moment and slowly reached out to take it from yours, then put it in his mouth and took the glass of water you offered him. He drank it in a single sip and then rested it on his knee, from where you took it and put it on the table next to his bed.

"Give it a few minutes to take effect," you said standing up from the bed and taking a bowl to the bathroom, filling it with warm water. Then, standing in front of him, you soaked a towel and drained it right after, putting it on his left shoulder, leaving your hand there. His eyes following each one of your steps. "Move your shoulder with this on. It will also help you."

After giving you a brief look, he followed your instruction and began to move his shoulder up and down slightly, frowning at times and catching his breath briefly. When you felt the towel got cold, you wet it again and repeated the same procedure, and so on several times until you saw that the suffering on his face began to disappear and his breathing began to normalize.

In one of the moments when you turned to soak the towel you saw a beautiful leather cover book on the table that you recognized.

"I love that book," you said looking at it with an easy smile on your lips as you put the towel on his shoulder again. "Those poems are beautiful."

He peered up at you and seemed to consider you for a moment. "I wouldn't have guessed that poetry is to your liking," his voice was now calm and soft. Of course, you liked it, you were a hopeless romantic.

"I like to read it when I'm at home," you continued as you watched how his posture was now more relaxed. He had survived the onslaught of pain.

Closing his eyes for a moment he spoke. "Poetry requires time. I was under the impression that you spend most of your time here or in the hospital."

Wait. Was that sarcasm? You couldn't tell, but it made you chuckle. "I have a very rich life outside the hospital, you know?" you said putting aside the towel that went cold and the bowl. It was enough of that. He returned his gaze to you. "Poetry, wine and bad decisions. I'm like and old writer just about to kill himself."

He made a short chuckle after that. Wow. So, he did smile. You felt a little satisfaction for making him laugh at your bizarre comments.

Without pain now he began to lie down on the bed. "Wait," you said and arranged the pillows so that he could be more comfortable. "There," you finished, and he leaned back, sighing, then tilting his face slightly to look at you. He was in that state in which the muscles of the entire body are relaxed after long and painful contractions. That and the pill helped a little too, so maybe now he could sleep.

You smiled at him. "Now you can get some rest, Your Highness," you spoke in a soft voice matching with his half-lidded eyes and then turned to go sit for a moment on the couch by the window.

"Ravus," he suddenly said.

You turned around again. "I'm sorry?"

Closing his eyes, he laid his head on the pillows and rested his right arm on the comforter. "You may call me Ravus."

A small smile made its way onto your face as you looked at him for a moment. Sitting on the couch you gave a little sigh, you were also tired, but you would stay awhile until he fell asleep in case the pain returned again.

In the dim light you remembered why you did this. It was these little moments that made it all worthwhile, the satisfaction this gave you was invaluable. A gesture, a word, a smile from someone who doesn't usually smile.

It was poetry.

And he liked poetry and sugar.

Who would have said so. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where did we get from that Ravus has a sweet tooth? or his taste for tea? I have no idea. It seems that Ravus is a character that has been built among all those who have written about him over time and there are things that already seem to be canon now. Either way, I love the result.
> 
> Thanks again if you're still around. 
> 
> I'll see you soon.


	4. Is your choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but here it is. Hope the wait is worth it.

After a weekend in the Citadel, you were finally on your way home to sleep in your bed. Or your couch. Whatever. 

Both days you'd awakened on the sofa in Ravus' room, covered by a thick blanket, without remembering when you'd fallen asleep. You would never forget when you woke up and saw him lying against the headboard with a book in his hand, greeting you with a sweet _you snore_.

He'd had a few bouts of pain, but they were manageable. At least he was able to sleep and recover, just like you in a way. Over time you'd developed the ability to sleep almost anywhere, but this weekend you'd certainly reached other shameless limits.

Either way, everything turned out fine, except that you couldn't run away with Gladio the way you wanted and you couldn't end your conversation with Ignis after he was called by his uncle. Gladio was obviously _not_ happy and that was eating at you. He was trying hard and you weren't. If you wanted this to work you couldn't keep doing the same thing and just expecting him to understand. You would have to start saying no to others. Not only him.

So Aranea offered to keep an eye on Ravus and you could go to your house. You weren't very happy with the idea, but you needed it, and tomorrow you promised yourself you would start doing something serious about your relationship with Gladio. 

You really wanted it to work this time.

"Hi," you greeted when he answered his phone as you drove through the streets of Insomnia at night.

" _Hi, babe? Something wrong?_ " he asked with a slight tone of concern. You'd said goodbye to him only a few minutes ago when you left the Citadel.

"No, no. I just forgot to tell you something," traffic was light and you were driving a bit fast. "What do you think if we have dinner tomorrow at my place?"

" _Oh,_ " you didn't like the sound of that _oh_ so you slowed your speed, grabbing the wheel a little tighter. " _I can't tomorrow. We gotta get the glaive tests ready_."

Right, that. You had forgotten. You had to be more attentive to his words from now on. "Yeah, I'm sorry," you said sheepishly, "I forgot about that."

" _But I'm free on Tuesday_ ," he quickly proposed with that deep and serene voice that made you tremble lightly in your seat. You couldn't help but smile like a child. 

"Sure," your excitement returned. "Tuesday will be then. I'll cook."

He chuckle tenderly. " _Can't wait_ ," you could hear the smile in his voice. Cooking for him was something you didn't do long ago. But the sound of your own words surprised yourself, it seems like you really were determined to make a change.

"Okay. Have a good night then," you said with a little wave of relief and satisfaction.

" _You too, babe_ ," -smile on your face-, " _let me know when you're home_."

"Sure," and you hung up with that silly smile still on your lips. You were already too grown up to go stupid so this was serious. No more excuses. You'd always bragged about having a perfectly balanced personal and professional life - bullshit - so it was time to prove that you weren't saying it just to try to convince yourself.

But you would start tomorrow.

Entering your house, immediately you got into your pajamas and did what you hadn't done in several days: sleep in your bed like a normal person.

You had many habits that had to start changing.

<>

A gentle knock on your office door as you finished registering the last patient who'd already left after a brief checkup and an advice to quit smoking.

"Come in," you chanted. 

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Ignis said as he entered the room with a beautiful blonde woman in a white dress following him. You knew who she was. So, she finally arrived. 

Quickly getting up from the chair, you smiled, circling the desk to greet them both. "Hi! No, it's okay." And she returned the gesture, more with her eyes, and immediately came towards you. Her heels making clicky sounds on the marble floor

"I'm so pleased to meet you," she said, taking your hands delicately in hers. "My apologies for not being able to come to take care of my brother earlier." Her face was so expressive. Those eyes were the purest blue and they looked at you with a remorseful expression.

"Oh, no. No. There's no need to apologize," you leaned forward slightly, speaking softly. "I totally understand the circumstances."

And she gave you the sincerest of the smiles, squeezing your hands just a little more. It was incredible the feeling of peace she transmitted in these few seconds with her, you felt as if you'd known her for a lifetime. Were they really brothers? 

She let out a tiny sigh and let go of your hands. "I just saw him and I couldn't be happier," she spoke and began to change the expression on her face into a darker one, directing her gaze to the floor. "With everything that has happened ..." 

"You all are going to get through this," you quickly said with a kind smile putting an arm on her shoulder. "It's good to have you here. For him and for all of us."

She looked up and her smiling eyes met yours again. She clasped her hands in front and nodded with a smile making its way to her lips. "Now I understand why he speaks so highly of you," she said. 

And another knock on the open door sounded, a playful one this time. "Hey, everyone!" Prompto said unceremoniously. That startled you just the slightest, pulling you out of the gentle smile with which Lady Lunafreya was looking at you. You were stunned by her words. Did Ravus really speak well of you? You didn't think he could give anyone that much credit.

"Hey, Prom!" you greeted him, leaving your musings. "Come to your checkup?" you asked, elbowing him gently in his arm. 

"Yeah," he said scratching the back of his neck. "I was scheduling it."

"The Marshal finally scolded you, huh?" you grinned and Ignis chuckled. The poor man's cheeks couldn't have gotten redder and Lady Lunafreya giggled, delicately covering her mouth with one hand.

"N-No! It was just a suggestion," he defended, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was gonna come anyway."

"The Marshal never suggests anything, I'm afraid," Ignis spoke with a little upward curve on his lips as he crossed his arms, too, shifting the weight of his body to the other foot.

Prompto sighed in frustration. “Yeah, I know,” and pursed his lips in a pout. It hadn’t been easy for him to join the Crownsguard as far as you knew. The training with the Marshal was tough, the change was even more so, but from what you’d heard from Cor, he’d been doing a great job and seemed like a promising member. Sometimes it appeared incredible to you that he was so unsure of himself, when you’d seen him shoot a target several feet away and never miss. That and being the most empathetic person you've ever met. This boy was amazing.

"Well," Lady Lunafreya spoke with an amused tone, “I don't want to bother you much more so I'm going to see my brother. 

Right. Prompto really managed to distract you sometimes. “You’re not bothering,” you smiled at her, "this guy is," pointing at Prompto with your thum and she giggled again. He gave you a flat look. “I'll go see you before I go to the hospital so I can tell you some things.” You had to teach her everything she needed to know to manage the attacks of pain, heal the wound, and support the therapies that were starting today.

“Of course, I’ll be waiting,” she nodded and walked to the door where a glaive was waiting for her. You've already seen him a couple of times before. Handsome one.

“Hi, Nyx,” Prompto quickly greeted him waving a hand. 

"Hey, Prompto. Good day everyone," the other man nodded in return giving a quick glance to the rest of you with his hands on his back and a serious face. Totally on his role. Prompto seemed to be improving in his social relationships lately.

Lady Lunafreya went to him and both left the office, Nyx walking behind her.

"How about we have lunch?" Ignis asked and Prompto's face lit up. You smiled at the sight. 

"Sounds good to me," you agreed. Your appointments were already over for the day and long ago you weren't really talking to Prompto. At least since the day you found out he was with Xavier. "Let me take this off and I'm done," you said leaving your white coat on the rack. 

The three of you left your office and you all said goodbye to Faye. Turning to look at Prompto you noticed that nervous smile and the slight pink on his cheeks. A familiar scene to you. 

"Oh, no," you said mockingly walking through the main door of the consulting rooms with one of them on each side of yours, looking at Prompto. "Is that why you hadn't come?" 

"W-What are you talking about?" he backfired pitching up his tone. His eyes were actively avoiding yours. 

"You like Faye!" the three continued walking down the hall to the elevator. It was so obvious now. He had avoided coming with you because he liked your assistant.

He laughed nervously then. "What can I do? She's nice and so pretty," he dreamily said. "Do you know if she's dating someone?" He cheerfully asked, jumping up to walk back looking at you as he spoke.

His enthusiasm made you laugh, how could you not give him hope. "Not that I know," you said smiling as you all reached the elevator, Ignis calling for it with an amused expression in his face for the exchange. 

"Yes!" Prompto clenched his fist in victory and turned to enter the elevator with you following him. "Do you think I should make my move on the day of the appointment?" he was speaking quickly with excitement. 

"Yeah, you should." That will be fun to watch. The last time he told you he was going to make his move with someone, he froze up talking nonsense and almost accidentally spilled soda on his victim. This poor guy. 

"Alright," he said as the three of you got out of the elevator. "It's love time," and put an arm over your shoulders. You laughed and shook your head. And you thought you were a hopeless romantic. 

You all sat at one of the delicately decorated tables in the dining room and the waiters served you the dish of the day. This was your favorite part of working here. After an amazing green soup curry, a delicious anak meat with leiden potato and killer tomato salad was served. Oh, yeah. And what better than to have a good company. 

"Hey," you addressed Prompto as you pricked a tomato, "you're making a lot of friends here, huh?" 

"Well, I wouldn't say a lot, but yeah" he said making some sort of laugh as he cut his meat and made sure to soak it well with the sauce. "I guess."

"That Nyx guy seems nice. I've seen him a couple of times in the office." The meat was so tender that you drooled while you took a piece.

"He's one of the most outstanding glaives," Ignis joined the conversation as he neatly assembled a bite of salad on his fork. This man. It was always quite a show to see him eat.

"How did you meet him? Did you train with him?" you asked while you cut your potatoes into small pieces. You were enjoying this so much. 

Prompto washed his bite with a sip of water. "No. I met him the other day when we went out for a drink with Gladio and another glaive," he finished his salad and continued with the potatoes. "We had plenty of time to talk when Gladio disappeared with Crowe."

Wow, wait a minute. Crowe. That name sounded familiar to you, but from where? You slowed in your chewing. If she was a glaive, you should have met her at an appointment. But there were so many that sometimes you couldn't remember them all. 

"I'm sure you'll continue to meet more people here," Ignis said and you noticed he suddenly furrowed his brows just a bit. 

"Sure!" Prompto replied resting his elbows on the table. "Everyone has been nice so far." And they kept talking as you tried to remember this Crowe. 

When have you seen her? 

Until you remembered. 

Yes. The skillful glaive who asked about a discomfort in urinating, apparently due to a weekend of non-stop sex. Oh gods. And that consultation had happened just after the weekend that you and Gladio... 

"Prompto," you interrupted him while he was talking to Ignis about the last training with the marshal. You leaned forward and put your elbows on the table, intertwining your fingers at the level of your face. "When exactly did you meet Nyx?" 

He seemed to think for a moment looking at the table and pursing his lips. Ignis took a sip of his water and adjusted his glasses. "Um... It was the day after I met your friend Xavier."

"Son of a bitch," you said making a breathily laugh as you lay back on the chair again, covering your eyes with a hand. Incredible. 

"Hey!" he whined, "he's just a friend, plus I'm not serious about Xavier." 

"No. Not you, Prom," you spoke in a tired voice. Your stomach had gone to your feet and lunch was churning inside you. What an _idiot_ you were. You'd been feeling so bad for not paying enough attention to him when he clearly had his backup from the start. Admittedly, you didn't talk about going serious or being exclusive, but this was ridiculous. You felt like a fool. Wanting to fix something that didn't exist. 

Ignis' face spoke volumes. His brows drew together and the curve of his lips went down in a frown as he clenched his jaw. Of course he knew it and he tried to tell you that day you talked. Prompto only had a questioning expression, obviously he was innocent of this.

"You know what, guys?" you said after sighing and laboriously getting up from the chair, your whole body was suddenly heavy. "I have to talk to Lady Lunafreya before I go. Thanks for the company," your voice was low just as your head. You didn't even wait for their answer, just turned around and left.

Walking down the hall to the elevators you had a big lump in your throat, it was incredible that this kept happening to you. Was there really nobody who wanted to be with you in spite of yourself? Were you so hard to bear?

Of course, that's why he hadn't spoken to you all that weekend. He wasn't busy with the prince's arrival, he was busy producing her a postcoital urinary infection. 

But for a second you paused. What if you were wrong, what if it was all a misunderstanding and you were misjudging the situation.

Entering the elevator you remembered Gladio's words when you broke up, maybe they were all true and this wasn't any misunderstanding. You still didn't get, now more than ever, why he'd looked for you again. This is what you feared, too, to lose the tranquility that had cost you so much to retake, to submerge yourself again in that hole of insecurity and self-pity.

In front of the door to Ravus' rooms you sighed deeply. There was no point in trying, this was the only thing that kept you afloat. In the end this was all you had. 

You painfully swallowed your tears and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, that beautiful smiling face with blond hair appeared. She looked at you with eyes between questioning and understanding, as if she'd been present a few minutes ago. It sure was written on your face, so you forced a smile and she ushered you in, guiding you to where Ravus was, sitting in one of the armchairs.

"Hello, Ravus," you spoke in schooled voice. You felt that he looked at you with an expression similar to that of his sister although more inquisitive. Maybe it was just your imagination or you should hide it better. You couldn't allow your personal issues to affect your work. And it wasn't their bussiness, anyway. 

"Are you ready for today?" you asked without giving importance to his gaze, surrounding the armchair to face him. Lunafreya positioned herself behind him and put a hand on his left shoulder.

"I am," he said without taking his eyes off you, following you as you seated in the armchair across from him. "I don't wish to make this any longer."

"Keep that enthusiasm," you sadly smirked, he was going to need it. "Anyway, I wanted to come here to tell you a few things about wound care and pain management," you addressed his sister when a faint white glow began to show under the hand on his shoulder. He just stood still, with his eyes on yours, and she looked at you carefree. Right, you'd completely forgotten that you were talking to the next Oracle who had nothing but the gift of healing and pain relief. "But clearly I see you don't need it," you said amused. 

She giggled and the corners of Ravus' lips curved almost imperceptibly upward. You couldn't help but make a lopsided smile when they'd mocked you so finely. "No, no," she graciously shook her head without leaving his shoulder, "I can be of help, but we need you. Isn't that right, brother?" 

"Of course," he spoke deeply and kept you pinned with his eyes as his sister kept working on him. For some reason, his gaze made you feel uncomfortable this time, so you cleared your throat and changed slightly the subject. 

"What you do is amazing," you smiled at her. It was truly impressive, you'd never seen anything like this before. "That would be of great help with my patients." 

The glow under her hand vanished and she withdrew her arm to go sit on the sofa. The sun out the window behind her gilded her hair even more. "I can help you any time you need it," she said as she rested her hands on her lap. Sure she would. It was in her nature to help others. 

Your smile grew on your face and you raised a brow. "Be careful, I can take your word." And she made a small laugh. 

"It would be a pleasure," she said in that soft voice of hers. Ravus just watched the exchange with a neutral expression, he really looked different now that his sister was with him. You noticed in the past that having someone close was something that always improved the outcomes. Her help sure would be invaluable.

"Alright," you said a bit cheered up, standing up from your chair, "let's take that off," pointing at the sling on his arm. It was time and he needed to remove it for the therapies. 

His brows drew together slightly and he shifted in his chair. You stood next to him and carefully untied the straps that held it. "Hold it with your other arm," you indicated at his prosthesis and he did it. Sliding it gently under it, you took off the sling and his metal arm was free. You took the opportunity to check on the wound that was in perfect condition and continued kindly with the instruction. "Get up and release it slowly."

He slowly got up from his chair and hesitantly dropped his prosthesis gently to his side, gesturing at times for the new and surely uncomfortable feeling. 

"How do you feel it?" you asked him standing by his side, ready for anything that might happen. 

He looked at his left arm for a second. "It is not as heavy as I thought it would be." 

You smiled at the small revelation. It looked solid, but couldn't be lighter. "Keep it like that for a while so you can get used to it," you said taking a couple of steps back. He kept staring at it and his sister watched him fascinated. "With therapies you'll start to move your fingers first until you can move your entire arm. And your help may be necessary," you addressed Lady Lunafreya. 

She nodded and squeezed her hands into fists lightly by her sides, smiling kindly. "Of course, what must I do?" 

"Just to ease the pain, the therapies will be painful at first," you turned your gaze to Ravus who met your eyes. He looked at you with something you thought was expectation and you couldn't hold back a small smile. This was life-changing. You were excited to begin this new stage and see the results of the surgery, expecting him to feel the same.

Then someone knocked on the door and then opened it without waiting for an answer. You turned to look and saw Aranea enter followed by Noctis, who could not contain his smile when he saw Lady Lunafreya, and Gladio, who didn't seem very surprised to find you there.

Unlike Noctis, you could notice that Ravus didn't hide his displeasure at the sight of the prince, while his sister seemed to become even brighter as she walked towards him. No more information needed. You, on the other hand, returned to your dark state when you saw Gladio. Having spent these minutes with the Nox Fleuret brothers had taken you out of your catastrophic thoughts, but they returned at the encounter of its source.

"I have to go now," you spoke quietly with that hint of depression to Ravus who was following every move of Lunafreya. He turned his eyes to you, pulled out from his distraction. "If you feel much pain you can put the sling back on." You gave him a brief smile and took a step to walk towards the door from where Gladio was looking at you.

"Wait," Ravus said suddenly and went to take a book that was on the table next to the sofa. You avoided Gladio's gaze until Ravus came and stood in between, handing the book to you. 

You looked at him and then at it. It was a beautiful green leather cover poetry book. 

"I'll take my time for it," you smiled with your mouth and your eyes. How not to do it. The simple gesture washed away your inner storm. He nodded with an eased expression and blinked once while looking at you, then turned around and without saying a word to the others, he entered his bedroom.

You stood there for some beats detailing the cover and its discreet and beautifully carved golden letters, keeping your shy smile, then looked up to bump into the harsh expression on Gladio's face. The smile waned. His brows furrowed and his eyes darkened, the line of his mouth flat. Noctis and Lady Lunafreya giggled happily while behind them he seemed like the incarnation of Ifrit.

But if he thought he could frown, you frowned deeper, and walked towards the door taking a little detour to speak to Ravus' sister. "I'm sorry to interrupt," you smirked to Noctis who returned the gesture, then you spoke to her, "but I'd like to know how he did with therapy when I leave work tonight. Would it be too daring to call you to tell me?" 

Her eyes widened just a bit and her smile grew. "Not at all," shooking her head, "please, take my number." And you saved it in your contacts noticing a small frown on Noctis' face. She put her hand delicately on his chest but you couldn't see her face while typing on the cell phone.

"Thank you, Lady Lunafreya," you raised your gaze from your screen and nodded, smiling at her. You kept your back to Gladio on purpose all the time and tried to ignore him as much as possible. You didn't know what you would do when you passed him.

All you knew was that upon turning, Gladio's face was somehow more enraged, he was scowling not only at you but at them. You looked at him for a moment without saying a word, the bitter feeling returning and the anger starting to bubble up inside you. "Can I talk with you outside?" was all you finally said. 

His eyes went to you and he seemed to relax his features slightly and nodded, opening the door for you to pass as he followed you. You said goodbye to Noctis and Lunafreya waving your hand and crossed to go out into the hall.

"I'm sorry but we have to cancel tomorrow," you said after a sigh, in a trained voice and unnecessarily smoothing the fabric of your blouse. You peered up at him and his eyes were pinned on yours, his brows together and the curve of his mouth pulled down into a frown. 

"Is it because of the prince?" his hoarse voice echoed in the lonely hallway. Fortunately, the guards in the distance didn't bother to look in your direction.

Now your brows drew together. Somehow that question just added one more cup to the big jug of anger that was filling with him in front of you and you held the book tighter in your hand. "What does he have to do with it?" 

"Well, I know you gotta take care of him," he leaned on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, looking briefly at the guards, "but I see he's consuming your time."

Who did he think he was to say that? It was your fucking problem with whom you decided to spend your fucking time. "Is not because of him," the level of the jug kept rising. "So what if it was?" you asked defiant. 

His frown deepened and his eyes darkened again focusing on you. "What's going on?" he spoke in a low and serious voice, moving away from the wall and facing you. The whirlpool of sadness, anger, jealousy, and disappointment swirled rapidly in your chest. 

But sadness took the spotlight and began to speak for you. "It's impossible to love someone who doesn't have time to love anyone, right?" you looked up at him, your voice on the verge of collapse from the memories. "Weren't those your exact words?" Your lips pursed and your eyes nailed him with pain. 

The frown of his mouth pulled deeper and the dark dissappeared from his eyes. Then he gaped and took a step towards you. "Babe, I-" 

"Don't call me like that!" Despite the rage, you took care that your voice didn't reach the ears of the guards. He came to a halt and his eyes widened. Your chest began to shake with your breathing and your eyebrows drew closer and closer until you felt a sharp pain between your heart and stomach. The jar reached its limit and it spilled out from you. "Are you dating Crowe Altius?" 

The words came out of you before you could tell and silence was the only thing that echoed in the hallway. Not a word. His eyes widened further and his jaw clenched, his arms at his sides went still and your own anger blinded anything you could have seen in his eyes.

There was your answer. 

The pain in your chest somehow sharpened and you felt it split you in two. How could you have been so stupid, stumbling over the same stone again. But with the realization you only felt one impulse. It was time to go. 

With quiet and disheartened voice, you spoke. "I can't believe you made me feel guilty for being good at what I do," you said to him and left. He just stood there. His amber eyes staring at nowhere and his strong arms hanging at his sides.

Not a fucking word. 

The vision of the hallway became blurred before you from the tears that were beginning to fill your eyes. You walked faster so that no one could see you and reached the elevator, holding the river inside you with all your might until the gates opened and you quickly got in, pressing the close button. You didn't mark any floor, just covered your face with your hands and crumbled there.

Pain, anger, frustration. That was what the tears in the jar that spilled from your eyes tasted like. The emptiness in your stomach began to give way with every one of them and then you took a tissue out of your bag to follow the advice you'd heard in a movie so long ago: blow your nose and the crying will stop immediately. Gods bless the film industry. 

Composing yourself and sipping through your nose, you pressed the button to the basement to go to your car. He didn't come to press the elevator button to stop you, to say anything that made you back off. It was just you.

You realized that only happened in movies.

Damn the film industry. 

<>

Coming home after a strange afternoon, feeling out of yourself, you decided to call Lunafreya. You'd been able to vent with Xavier who, in his strange way, had lifted your spirits and your work, as always, had served to make you forget everything and everyone. Which wasn't always a bad thing, especially on days like this one.

You picked up your phone while waiting on a red light and dialed the number that you'd saved with her name. After a few _beep_ your call was answered.

" _Who is this?_ " a raspy and deep voice spoke, reverberating throughout your car and freezing you. 

"... Ravus?" Why did he answer his sister's phone. You hoped this wasn't something they did often. "Hi, I-I was calling your sister but-" 

" _But apparently she made a mistake_ ," he said with a hint of irritation. You could almost see how he turned to glare at his sister.

"A mistake?" you asked confused. 

" _This is my number_." 

For all the horns of Ifrit. Did she really give you his number on purpose instead of hers? That explained Noctis's little frown when you saved it in your phone, obviously noticing the _mistake_ and the rage of Gladio with the sure gesture of complicity that she must have done so that Noctis didn't open his mouth. Now you could almost see her smile when Ravus realized the dirty little trick. What was this woman thinking? 

You tried to stifle a laugh at the situation, but it was a mediocre attempt. "I'm sorry, I...," you smiled involuntarily and decided to just follow the conversation while you kept driving home. "I didn't want to disturb you at this hour, that's why I asked for her number. I just wanted to know how you were." Wait, too personal, "I mean, after the therapy," you quickly corrected. 

You hoped it hadn't sounded too weird because the other end of the line went silent for a moment and your grip on the wheel tightened just a bit. 

He sighed. " _I was able to lift a finger_ ," was his concrete answer. Small advance, but it made you happy. 

"Good," You made sure the smile was heard in your voice. "That's really good. Was it too painful?" 

" _More than I would have thought of it,_ " he quickly replied. That was not so good, but it was expected. You'd warned him, anyway.

"It will get better over time and with your sister's help," you tried to soothe it as you parked your car. "Speaking of her, I'll ask for her real number tomorrow. Sorry about that." You turned off your car and picked up the phone to put it on your ear as you got off from it.

After a couple of beats, he spoke. " _I'm your patient. Not her._ "

That made you slow down slightly towards the entrance of your building. Was that a green light to communicate directly with him? You decided to take it that way and not ask. "O-Okay," you said, opening the main door. "So... I'm glad you passed your first therapy. I see you tomorrow then. Good night."

" _Good night_ ," and he hang up the phone. That was... odd. 

You couldn't help wondering again why Lunafreya had done that as you went up the stairs. Maybe she just wanted to make fun of you because she obviously knew the great amount of nerves his brother could induce in a person, and more in something as personal as calling his number directly. Cute girl, but evil as daemons.

Finally entering your apartment, you took off your shoes and threw your bag on the couch, poured yourself something to drink and lay on it facing the ceiling. What a day. You could only wish to sleep and forget.

You knew that the hardest part of these situations were the moments when you were alone. They broke you. And this was no exception. You reviewed every gesture from Gladio, every word, or every absence of them, to put it better.

There was no going back. This really had happened, again. Everything with him seemed to happen again and again. You no longer had the strength for that.

Tears started to roll down your cheeks as that unpleasant sensation settled in your stomach. Moving your hand to accommodate you better, trying to muffle that feeling somehow, it tripped over something hard. You turned your head to see what it was and found the book Ravus had given you that had come out of the bag.

Taking it in your hands, you noticed something you didn't see when he handed it to you. The thin satin ribbon that was attached was separating a particular page. You opened it, following the delicate guide, to find the first part of a poem by an anonymous author titled _In the hospital_ :

_Grimed with misery, want, and sin,  
From a drunken brawl they brought him in,_

_While tearless-eyed around his bed,  
They whispered coldly: "He is dead,"_

_And looked askance as they went past,  
And said: "Best so. He has sinned his last."_

_But the surgeon sighed: "Alas! Not so.  
A flicker of life is yet aglow."_

_And day and night beside the cot,  
He stayed his step, desisting not;_

_By night, by day, with travail sore,  
Fought for the life so nearly o'er. _

And that was all it took. 

The letters blurred and two drops fell on the yellowed page leaving two perfect dark circles. You left the book open on your lap and putting a hand on your mouth you started to sob, reading the rhythmic words over and over again.

Not knowing exactly why, everything you'd felt during the day suddenly came out. You cried for everything and for nothing. You cried for Gladio, for feeling abandoned by him and for not being able to do anything about it. For what it could have been. You cried for all the sacrifices and for all that you had to put aside. You cried for everything you'd seen. You cried for Ravus and for this. 

This. 

He didn't talk much but this told you everything. You cried because despite it all, you had wonderful people in your life and you kept finding them. You cried because this was all you needed today.

And you had to tell him. 

Taking your phone while you were still sobbing and with a smile in the midst of crying, you changed Lunafreya's name to his. Maybe it was too personal this time, but you didn't care. You would thank Lunafreya later. You doubted it for a moment but before the blank message window, you typed and sent it to him without second thoughts. 

Despite the sad nature of the poem, rereading the verses, you smiled. You smiled and then laughed. And taking the book with you, you went to bed to sleep.

You weren't expecting an answer, and none came, anyway. But falling asleep with a smile on your face, you felt no weight on you. 

Those few simple lines brought you peace.

Or maybe it was the hands that brought them to you.

<>

You: _Thank you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit that I don't like putting Gladio in such a bad position but I need him like that for now. Sorry. I love that big guy, too. 
> 
> Let me know what you think so far and thank you! As always :)


	5. What lies ahead of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took more time and turned out longer than I expected, but I hope you don't mind.

It was a beautiful morning.

The sun was shining in the clear sky with no cloud in sight. The wind blew and rocked the tops of the trees, and all the people seemed to catch the bright energy of the new day.

Except you.

Some days had passed since your last disastrous encounter with Gladio. You were recovering, but still felt that little punch on your chest when you woke up and remembered that you were no longer with him and, most painful of all, that he was with someone else. You got up, went to the Citadel, kept your appointments, went to see Ravus, and then to the hospital. That was your daily routine.

The only part that really helped you get through the day was seeing Ravus. He progressed more and more, and faster than you expected, moving one finger first, then the other and the other. He could now move his hand at will, wield it, or get distracted by its fingers, as you’d seen him do it a few times. Now he concentrated on moving his complete arm, which was always the hardest part. And he was struggling with it.

That, and the fact that he hadn't left his rooms since the day he returned from the hospital. Clearly, he didn't want anyone to see him, especially after the incident with the press. You only saw him sunbathing through one of the big windows occasionally and you were sure that the self-imposed confinement must already be starting to do its thing, so because of that, and because of the little liking for reading that you found in common, you started bringing him some books that you thought he might like and help him pass the time. But he was an avid reader, and he had a lot of free time, too, so you were starting to run out of options.

So, while you were cursing that beautiful morning in your car, you decided to stop by the Citadel library first and find something interesting to bring him before you start your work.

That place was one of your favorites in the imposing skyscraper. The long, beautifully carved shelves filled with old and new books could keep you entertained for hours ... if only you could be there that long.

You walked the long hallways that made their way from one shelf to the other, browsing here and there, until you found a fiction book that he might like. A prince wrapped in a prophecy in which he must wage the greatest battle of all against a great and ancient villain to rid the world of a terrible plague that threatened to extinguish even sunlight. Well, you weren't sure if he liked it, but it was one of your favorite books, so you were going to try your luck.

You flipped through the pages as you took the elevator to the floor where his rooms were. Long ago you’d read it. It was one of your favorites because of the beautiful friendship of the protagonists, although the ending was very sad.

"Hey, doc," Aranea greeted you as soon as the elevator doors opened. She didn’t have her typical sarcastic expression and looked indisposed, her hands on her hips, though she smiled slightly at the sight of you. "Morning visit?"

"Hi. Um," you looked at her with disguised strangeness as you walked out, "quick visit, I'd say."

As soon as you got out of the elevator, she entered. "Well, good luck in there," that sarcastic smile of hers returned, "for now, I need some air." And the doors closed with a _bing_.

You stayed there, staring at the doors for a couple of seconds. What had she meant? Assuming you would find it out soon, you turned around and went on your way, reaching the rooms' doors.

Some beats after you knocked, Lunafreya opened. "Good morning, doctor," she said with a forced smile and sad eyes. What the hell was going on in here? "Please, come in."

"Thank you," you said as you entered the room. Giving a quick look at the wide space you didn't see Ravus anywhere and his bedroom door was closed. Lunafreya came to your side with slow steps as she pursed her lips and crossed delicately her arms under her chest.

"He hasn't left his bedroom and says he doesn’t want to see anyone," she said with concerned expression. "He even argued with Aranea, although that is not so rare," she huffed a tiny laugh through her nose, a gesture you imitated right after. You already knew well the passive-aggressive relationship that the two of them had. But that didn't make you stop worrying about him.

"Something happened?" you asked, turning to her. Maybe something had triggered this attitude, although you already had an idea of what it was.

"Not that I know," she said with a thoughtful look, "but I think it may have something to do with his arm." Well, this girl was indeed perceptive. Of course, it had to do with his arm. It had been almost a week without being able to move a single new part of it and he’d been making daily progress before. It had everything to do.

"Don't worry," you said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "days like these are normal. He must've been-"

His bedroom door suddenly opened, and he stared at you both with his forever frown. You gaped, getting caught in the middle of the sentence and after a second you closed your mouth, petrified by his gaze, then watching him turning around and going back into his room but letting the door open. You took that as an invitation, although you knew that nothing good was waiting for you inside.

As you took a step forward, you gave a flash look at his sister who had an expression that was... apologetic? Narrowing your eyes briefly at that sight, you kept going, then entered his room and closed the door behind you.

He sat on the sofa in front of his bed and took the book he was probably reading before hearing you speak outside. Crossed one leg, resting his calf on his knee and reopened the book where he had left it. You, meanwhile, timidly took out the book of poetry that he’d lent you and took it along with the other one that you’d taken out of the library for him, reaching with slow steps the table against the wall that was in front of the foot of his bed.

"I brought you another book," you said as you put them both on the table, one on top of the other, "and I'm giving you back the one you lent me. I loved it."

"You may keep it," he said without looking up from the pages. You noticed that he was rereading one of the first books you’d brought him, but despite his polite offer, the tense air in the room could be cut with a knife. You felt like you were dismantling a bomb.

"I- Thank you," you put the poetry book on top of the other to take it later. Swallowing hard, you turned to face him. He kept his eyes pinned in the reading, his right hand holding the book and the left hanging at his side, moving his fingers idly on the couch's surface. Since he had started moving them, you’d noticed that he didn’t stop doing it. "It's a beautiful morning," you dared to say, "why don't you take a walk on the inner gardens?"

"That's not happening until I'm fully recovered," he answered curt. You sighed silently then.

"Being locked up isn’t good for you, Ravus," you tried to sound as kind as possible. "You should take more care of yourself."

He blinked slowly just once before looking up from his reading and staring at you. No frowning, but there was something about his eyes that told you that you’d cut the wrong wire. "And should I take such advice from you?" his voice was splashed everywhere with challenge.

 _What-the-hell_? You couldn't help the irritation his tone produced in you. He’d never spoken to you like that. Whatever he was trying to say was none of his business, and you certainly weren't in the mood to tolerate meddlers today, nor did you have the patience to pretend you were. "I'm sorry?" you said, marking every letter as you narrowed slightly your eyes.

"From you," he continued to harass you with the same tone, closing his book in his lap, "who has skipped lunch several times in the last days. Who has been visibly distracted and who, by the dark marks under your eyes, I assume has not taken proper rest."

 _What_? This was the most he’d spoken in almost a month and it was to kick you on the ground where you already were?

Your eyes narrowed even more and you clenched your jaw, trying to suppress the impending anger within you. "Is none of your concern," you spoke through clenched teeth, "Your Highness." A fleeting frown crossed his face at the mention of his title instead of his name.

"Perhaps is not," he slowly uncrossed his legs and seemed to deepen his gaze on you. "But I refuse to accept the advice of someone whose behavior seems so foolish."

What the _fuck_?

"Very well," you made an angry smile then, almost biting your lower lip with rage as you softly patted the leather cover of the poetry book on the table. "Since I lack the moral authority to give _such_ advice then feel free to do what you see fits better with your mental health," if he believed that he could string together many words in one sentence to insult, then he had found his match. "But know one thing," you pointed at him with your index finger, "I won't let you screw this up."

And you turned around and left, being careful not to slam the door as you walked out. That would've been rude.

Lunafreya jumped up from her chair the moment you came out, looking at you with expectant eyes. You took a deep and sonorous breath then and forced a smile turning to her. "I'm going to work," and quickly got out without giving her time to say anything.

You walked briskly down the hall to the elevator and didn't press, you _hit_ the down button. After a couple of seconds, the doors opened and Ignis appeared in it, who looked at you oddly, tilting his head slightly. "Is something the matter?" he asked hesitantly.

Only then you noticed the tension in your face muscles when you relaxed at the sight of him. You felt how your frown relaxed and your teeth came loose, sighing. Entering the elevator, you stood next to him while he followed you with his eyes. "That you were right." You said as the doors closed, staring straight ahead. "That’s the matter."

<>

_The worthless life so nearly told,—  
And the man returned to his ways of old—_

_Went back unchanged to his old, sad ways,  
And sinned and sinned to the end of his days._

_And the surgeon wrote in his private book:  
"Sin, sorrow, wrong, where'er I look._

_I have saved a hideous life. And why?  
That a man curse God again, and die."_

<>

You spent the morning attending to your queries with a burning sensation in your stomach. While you were typing something on the computer, you were constantly bouncing your leg, or while your patient was preparing behind the divider, you were glaring at infinity.

Disgruntled was the term. Absolutely disgruntled.

It didn't matter the sun outside or the cool wind out of the window. There were thunder and lightning in your head, and the words stuck in your throat that you wanted to say to him like a volcano about to erupt.

But the storm calmed with the entrance of your last patient. "Hey, you!" Prompto said cheerfully as he walked in. This little ray of sunlight that emerged from the gray clouds of your thoughts.

"Hey, Prom!" you smiled at him and stood up to give him a hug. He was the only person you were so openly physical with. "So, you’re finally going to be my patient. You couldn't run away from me forever," you grinned as you sat down again.

He laughed and sit across from you. “I tried, but here I am."

"Okay," you smiled as you opened his record on the computer. "I'm finally going to see you naked."

"W-What? Seriously?" He widened his eyes to the maximum and immediately his skin colored to the collarbones. But you stayed in your role.

"Of course, silly!" you spoked as you typed some data. "How else am I supposed to examine you? Although...," you looked at him askance, "we still can call Xavier."

He grunted, unamused, and you giggled. You didn't know why you loved picking on him.

"I'm sorry, Prom," you said getting serious again but with a kind smile on your face. "But you do have to undress. Just stay in your underwear."

He gaped and then stuttered something you didn't understand, but finally he gave up. "... Okay," he sighed, lowering his head and his shoulders, "just- don't laugh."

"I'm not going to," you reassured him as he stood up and went to the stretcher. You were fully aware of how uncomfortable this was for him, and in part for you, because now you’d already seen them all half-naked. Even Noctis, who’d had to go through your hands when he was hit hard in training by Gladio some months ago.

You always thought Ignis was going to be the shyest, but he was almost always the most willing to have his medical check-ups, after Gladio, for obvious reasons. Prompto had never come with you, but the Marshal arranged that all members of the Crownsguard should be valued by you, so you’d already had the pleasure of _seeing_ all your friends. And hell, you were in good company.

"I-I'm ready," Prompto said from the stretcher and you stood up, circling the divider.

The poor boy was sitting on the edge, hunched over, clutching the support rod and flushed from head to toe. "Hey, relax. I like what I'm seeing," you scoffed.

"You're not helping," he nervously said, giving you a quick an unamused look.

You chuckled then. "I'll be gentle, I promise," you spoke as you took your stethoscope off the wall. He made some sort of laugh and relaxed slightly, loosening his grip on the rod.

You began to examine him while making some joke from time to time. You noticed that he had multiple scars on his back and arms and that he’d removed everything except a bracelet on his right wrist. Now that you paid attention to it, you remembered that you always saw him with it no matter what he was wearing, but now you needed to evaluate his joints and that was getting in the way.

"I need you to take that off, please," you pointed at it and then turned around to place your stethoscope on the wall again.

He didn't move for a beat. "Um...," he hesitated, "it's... necessary?"

You turned to see him puzzled by the question. "Uh, yeah. Just a second."

He pursed his lips and looked at it, placing his other hand above.

You couldn't understand what the problem with removing a simple bracelet was, and for a moment you thought he may have cutting marks, so you gave him time to do it. But seeing that he was hesitating too much, you were going to tell him to leave it on when he took it off and you could see the cause of his shame.

Those brands were familiar to you, but never seen one in real life. You’d seen them at medical school as part of the genetics program. There you learned that in Niflheim it was the tattoo with which they marked the clones produced in a huge program led by the famous Verstael Besithia, a brilliant but deranged man who’d used many women within the same facilities of his laboratory to obtain the eggs and the missing genetic material to clone himself.

You believed that none of the clones had ever left Niflheim, and didn't even know if any had survived, but here he was. The little sunshine. You couldn't believe it.

He was staring at the floor and his shoulders were no longer stiff, but sagging. His hands rested numb on his thighs and his mouth curved down.

"This is why you never wanted to come with me," you spoke quietly in realization. "Not because of your fear of doctors or because you liked Faye."

He didn't make a move for a second and then nodded slowly, without lifting his gaze from the floor.

You couldn't imagine what this was like for him. A clone? What would you feel if one day they told you that you’re a copy of someone? That you were not born as a normal baby? That they mass-produced you as anything and that you’re also the copy of one of the most twisted men in the most evil nation of Eos?

That was too much for one person and yet here he was, making friends, being good to others, giving love. You couldn't admire him more right now.

"You know what?" you said as you sat next to him on the stretcher. "There’s a theory in genetics that says that it isn’t possible to clone a person completely," you looked at him and then he turned his head, not looking directly at you but at where you were. "It says that the body can be copied but not the mind, because the brain responds to all external stimuli and that is how the personality is created. So, it doesn't matter that two people are physically identical, the individual will always be unique."

Now his eyes did meet yours. And he smiled.

"No one can clone a soul, Prom," you said rubbing his back as you smiled gently. "Not yet." And his eyes watered.

You jumped off the stretcher then and hugged him tight. Apparently, he no longer cared that he was half-naked because he returned the gesture and you stayed like that for several minutes. Admittedly, your eyes also watered, and you felt so much happiness of having met someone so special. So unique.

You slowly withdrew and cupped his face, smiling at him. He made a small laugh and sniffed. "But this is a crime against nature," you joked then, ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" He whined between a laugh and turned his careful hairstyle back on. You stepped back laughing and put your hands in the pockets of your white coat.

Both were left with a content smile and he lifted his gaze at you. "Thanks," he said as he straight his posture and rested his hands flat on his thighs. You hummed and your smile grew on your face.

"Come, I must keep touching you," you indicated for him to stand in front of you. He laughed and follow your command, spreading his arms so you could continue with his examination. While you worked the joints of his shoulders, you kept talking. "Do the others know?"

"No," he answered. "I don't know how they would take it."

That was something that visibly affected him. "Bend your back," you said with a hand on his shoulder and he did it. "You’ve been friends for a long time. They’ll be surprised but I don't think they’ll take it badly."

"I don't know," his voice sounded muffled because of his position as you felt his vertebrae. "... I don't think I'm ready to tell them," he straightened then at your instruction.

"Yeah, take your time," you spoke as you stood in front of him and watched the alignment of his collarbones. Then, as you took a step back, smiled in satisfaction at finding him healthy. "And don't worry, this stays here. I'm not going to say a word."

"I know," he smiled and sat down again in the stretcher. "Thanks."

"Alright, get dressed before I call Faye in," you jested, turning around to go to your desk. He just laughed and seemed to be finally getting used to being teased constantly by you.

"Hey," he said softly behind the divider as you sat back at the desk and listened to the noise of his clothes. "I'm sorry about what happened with Gladio. I-I had no idea."

"Don't worry, Prom, it wasn't your fault." Although you were still hurt, it didn’t affect you as much as it did a few days ago. You cut off all communication with him and kept yourself busy, and you had the aggravating circumstance that you’d been through this with him before so this time it was being less hard.

"Well," he spoke as he went out from the examination area and came to sit in the patient chair, "I hope you can fix things between you."

That was not going to happen. Not anymore. "We'll see. Hey, Prom, how did you-" you said trying to finish the conversation and then your phone rang in your desk. "Tell me," you answered, putting it in your ear.

"Doctor, Lady Lunafreya just called and asks if you can come up," Faye spoke on the other end of the line.

"Sure, did she say why?" If she had taken the trouble to look for you, you were sure that what was coming wasn’t going to make you happy. At all.

"Um," Faye hesitated for a second and that unnerved you. She’d already been working with you for a while and knew you well. "She said that the prince didn’t want to do his therapy and that he... threw the therapist out."

You paused.

And felt how every millimeter of your body was filled with infinite anger. The heat took your face and you looked at Prompto who widened his eyes and blinked in anticipation. "Thank you, Faye," you said automatically, staring at Prompto for no reason as if he was the target of your rage, and you hung up. "I have to go," you said suddenly, standing up from your chair and stormed out of your office.

"O-Okay," was all you could hear from him.

You walked long, fast, heavy steps down the corridor to the elevator, blinded by anger. Who did he think he was? When you reached it, you pressed the up button repeatedly, impatiently, as if he was going somewhere before you could get there.

As you entered the elevator you realized you were breathing hard and fast. Just then you noticed there was a man in it, who stepped silently to the side but you didn't care, just shoved your hands into the pockets of your white coat and clenched them into fists, impatiently observing the numbers that were changing on the display.

When you got to the floor you hardly waited for the elevator to open the doors and went out moving sideways. Then you reached his rooms and stopped your hand just before knocking, taking a deep breath, closing your eyes and adjusting your lapels.

You knocked on the door then, much more gently than you could have done right on arrival and Lunafreya immediately opened it.

"Where is he?" you asked without waiting for her to greet you. She could see your mood clearly on your face. Anyone could. Her face was the clear portrait of impotence but before she could open her mouth, Ravus left his room, scowling, walking towards you. Uninvited, you entered, passing her, and walked to face him.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" you asked enraged, not yelling but certainly raising your voice. You were frowning so deep that you could see how your eyebrows drew together just above your eyes as you glared up at him.

"I'm not continuing with this!" he snapped, matching your tone, as he marked his statement with a sharp movement of his right hand to the side. "I will not tolerate that you and your people keep coming to pity me and for nothing!"

"What!?" you pitched up your tone, frowning deeper if that was even possible. "Do you think we do this out of pity? This is their job and _my_ job and is called _empathy_! A word that I doubt you know!" you pointed your index finger at him.

He took a step closer to you. The color of his mismatched eyes seemed to ignite at every word. "Do not forget who you are talking to, doctor," he spoke in a dark and threatening voice, marking the last word, but you didn't back down.

The higher the intensity, the more you held his gaze in an attempt to show him that he had no power over you. This was not his kingdom and you had a clear problem with authority. "I see no one here but a man," you raised your chin at him.

The lines of his jaw grew harder and his breathing was quick. There was purple and blue fire in his eyes that threatened to scorch your very soul.

Lowering the tone of your voice a little at his silence, but still firm, you continued. "Do you have any idea how insulting it is that you think we do this out of pity?" you kept staring at each other. "If that was the impression I gave to you then I lost my last month here."

Your anger was beginning to change into offense. Pity implied superiority and you didn’t feel superior to him or anyone and you were sure that those who worked with you didn’t either or they wouldn't be doing it. It was a matter of humanity. You knew it was the frustration that was speaking for him, but now you were offended that he thought you were moved by something as basic as that.

His features softened just the slightest, but his eyes kept pinning you with something between disgust and indignation. "You can abandon this and find someone who is more suitable for you if you want," you said, "but don't you dare to say we pity you when the only one here that is pitying himself is you."

His nostrils shifted and his chest rose with an inaudible breath, eyes widened in the slightest way and lips tightened almost imperceptibly. He was holding back, so you turned around and walked to the door before the blast was bigger.

"I'm sorry," you said to Lunafreya in a low voice as you passed her, who looked at you with something like anguish. Then you went out and closed the door behind you.

The energetic steps with which you had arrived, became slow and carefree now. With your head down, you reached the elevator and almost reluctantly pressed the down button. Upon entering you marked the floor of your office and leaned against one of its walls with your hands behind between your body and the cold surface.

What a shame. How much work lost. Surely, he would now leave, and you would lose the opportunity to see him recovered. That was all that mattered in the end.

When you got to your office, Prompto was already gone. Faye gave you a sad smile guessing what had happened and then went home, finishing her day. You took off your white coat and hung it in its place, took your bag and also left, thinking that today you wouldn’t skip lunch, but the confrontation had taken away your appetite.

Then in your car, you slammed the door when you closed it. After taking a deep breath, you started it and left the Citadel. An old song was playing when you turned on the radio on the way to the hospital that reminded you of your student days. Those days when you learned with enthusiasm to save lives and help people, to change the world. But then, you learned the hard way that the world doesn’t change and people even less.

And you had to do your job despite that.

<>

The next day you received a message from King Regis who wished to see you when you finished your day. You knew what was waiting for you. It was faster than you thought, in fact. You figured Ravus was going to take a few more hours to leave considering that he had to transport a lot of people back, but you forgot that for royalty things seemed to run at a different speed.

So, in front of the Throne Room doors you took a deep breath as they announced you and prepared to receive the scolding of your life.

How it had occurred to you to shout and insult the Prince of Tenebrae? How you had lost patience like that? Your reputation would go to waste as well as your job and the king's favor. Well done.

"Good morning, doctor," King Regis saluted you with a smile from his throne. He was kind even scolding someone, apparently.

You accepted your destiny and hoped this would be fast. "Good morning, Your Majesty."

"I'm curious about the evolution of Prince Ravus, how has it turned out?" he said propping an elbow on the arm of his huge chair and putting a hand on his chin. Great. Surely, he already knew that the prince considered this a failure.

"Um," excellent, very elocuent, "his evolution has been within expectations, however, there are difficult days."

"I imagine, of course. But I'm glad to hear that he continues to improve," he smiled lightly and put his hands on both armrests again. "Have you two understood each other well?"

And there it was. There was no point in trying to keep evading what had happened. "Well," you looked momentarily at the floor, "we had an altercation yesterday. I'm afraid I'm no longer trusted so I'll understand any decision that comes from it." It was done. It was better to speed things up.

He leaned forward slightly in the chair and knitted his eyebrows. "I can't fathom why you would think such thing. I went to visit him this morning and he speaks highly of you."

Now you knitted your brows. Interesting, the king was the second person to tell you that. And really? After how you spoke to him yesterday? The king had misheard for sure or he was trying not to make you feel so bad. "He's being polite."

He chuckled and leaned back on his chair again, apparently amused. "I have no idea what your disagreement was about, but I'm sure if he didn't want to continue under your care he would have already left."

You were so confused now, but the ghost of a smile appeared on your face at the realization, though you didn't show that something seemed to rejoice inside you. "I guess I should continue then."

He chuckled again. "I'm afraid so," he smiled gently. "Thank you for the information, doctor."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," you smiled back, nodded at him and left the room.

A small spark ignited inside of you again, but you couldn't be sure that Ravus had really let your dispute pass. And you wouldn't ruin your good mood by finding out right now.

Instead of going straight to your car after finishing your job like you’d done for the past few days, you headed to the dining room this time. You deserved it.

And who knew if the king was telling the truth, anyway.

<>

After a busy afternoon reconstructing two fingers of a patient who fell from a chocobo in a race, you were finally in your apartment. Who would have said that a chocobo fall could be so disastrous.

With a glass of juice in hand you sat idly in front of the television after taking off your jacket and shoes and leaving them at the entrance. Staring at your videogame console, you realized it was a long time since you touched it for the last time, so you stood up to take your control and put one of your favorites.

You remembered then why you were stuck. It was a simple mission, but you had to do too many points in a short amount of time to complete it and the targets that you had to destroy were very far from each other. But today you felt lucky. So, you took off your plane and started launching missiles at everything that was marked on your radar.

The enemy planes were faster than you, but you managed to get behind them and put them in gun range and you had some wonderful air-to-ground missiles that blew up the anti-aircraft weapons from the bases. It took some daring maneuvers and some curses from your mouth when you thought you wouldn't make it after one of the enemy fighters blew a missile at your right wing, but you did it. The mission was successful.

Bad luck, guys, you were on a streak today.

You were reaping the rewards of your successful aviation career, deciding which would be the next plane you would buy and with what improvements when the intercom in your apartment buzzed. It wasn't that late, really, so it could be anyone.

"Who is it?" you spoke pressing the button in your wall.

" _Hey, doc_." A woman answered from downstairs. How did she know where you lived?

"Aranea? What are doing here?"

" _I have a special delivery. Let me up or I won't be paid._ "

You huffed a laugh through your nose and pressed the button to open the door of the building, then went to open the door of your apartment and waited for her there. After a few seconds you heard her footsteps going up the stairs and she appeared carrying a large paper bag in her hand, the printed logo of which you recognized.

"Hope you're hungry," she said, extending the bag towards you as soon as she reached the threshold of your door. It was from your favorite restaurant.

You couldn't help the incredulous expression on your face as you received it. "Wha- What is this?"

"Soup, I think. And pasta or something. I don't know," she said crossing her arms under her chest and smirked at your unchanging puzzled face. "He sent it to you."

_What?_

"Ravus?" you asked brilliantly.

"I wouldn't run errands for anyone else," she said raising a brow.

You looked at her in surprise for a couple of seconds and then at the bag in your hands. "Please, come in," you spoke after shaking your head in an attempt to get out of your amazement.

"No, thanks," she waved a hand. "I'm just bringing that to you."

"Thank you, Aranea, but- you don't have to do these things for him." Despite the gesture, it didn't seem right to you that he takes his bodyguard to play errand boy.

She made a small laugh. "I'm not doing it for him, you know?" then she leaned her shoulder against the door frame. "A couple of years ago you treated a man who was injured in Gralea. It turns out that this man is one of my subordinates and a good friend, and I never had the chance to thank you for what you did for him. So, I offered to bring you dinner," she grinned and shifted her weight to the other foot.

You chuckled at the confession. How small the world was. "Yeah, I remember him. Quiet guy,” you said remembrating, looking at the front wall and then at her.

She hummed and made a lopsided smile. "Listen," Aranea spoke moving away from the door frame, "I know he can be a royal asshole sometimes but he's not a bad man."

You sighed and then nodded. "Yeah, I know," a sad smile crossed your face as you looked at her. "Thanks again."

"It's not me who you should thank," she said walking backwards on the corridor and you chuckled, nodding in agreement. Then she waved a hand and walked away.

"Aranea!" you called her before she reached the stairs, steping outside of your apartment. She turned to you. "How did you know where I live?"

She made her characteristic expression of self-sufficiency. "Don't forget who I work for, doc," she winked at you and turned to went down the stairs.

You laughed and shook your head, walking back into your apartment and then going to sit on the sofa with your surprise dinner. You left it on the table and, smiling, took your phone to search for Ravus' number but hesitated to dial. You’d both been idiots, but he’d already swallowed his great cargo of pride by sending this to you, so now it was your turn to swallow yours and accept that you’d been pitying yourself, too.

The _beep_ sounded when you dialed, and he answered on the second ring. " _I hope she hasn't eaten half of it,_ " was his greeting.

You chuckled. "No. I think she doesn't like any of this," you played along and went silent for just a second, changing then the tone of your voice for a softer one. "Thank you."

" _Have you already had dinner?_ " he asked.

No, you were on an important mission. It wasn't like you forgot to eat. "No, I hadn't," you said smiling at your own stupid thoughts. "How did you know that this was my favorite restaurant?"

" _You were talking about it with your colleague when I woke up from anesthesia,_ " he said as it was the most normal thing in the world.

You made some sort of small laugh. "Wow, I don't remember that."

" _Unsurprising after a day as long as the one you submitted to that day,_ " he replied.

That was true, there was little you remembered before going to sleep that day. But it still seemed incredible to you that _he_ remembered that when he hadn't even fully woken up then. "Yeah, well," you continued, "you didn't have to do this."

 _"I'm not taking back what I said about your selfcare, but it was not my intention to insult your work_." His voice was so calm and natural. You’ve never resolved an argument so civilly with anyone before.

"I know," your voice was soothing as well. "So... does that mean you continue?" you asked, drawing imaginary patterns on your pants with the tip of your finger.

" _Yes_ ," he quickly answered, and a big smile found its way on your face.

"Great!" you couldn't help but talk enthusiastically and then lowered your tone at noticing it. "Good to hear that. Listen, I...” it was your turn now, "I'm sorry for how I spoke to you yesterday. I-"

" _No,_ " he interrupted. “ _Do not apologize._ "

"O-Okay," you sighed in something like relief. "You acted asinine, anyway," you joked, trying to hold back a laugh while waiting for his reaction.

A second of silence came then. " _I can tolerate a single insult per week_ ," he spoke, but you could hear the discreet amusement in his voice.

You laughed again, relieved to be talking to him like this again. "Noted. I mean...," your voice became soft again and somewhat hoarse. "You don't have to do it all by yourself, you know? I'm here and... your sister and all this people I work with."

Another beat of silence. " _I appreciate that_ ," he said deeply. You’d both done your legwork and it hadn't been easy for any of you, so now you felt that you had to cut the tension with some other bad joke. " _I was reading the book that you brought me,_ " he spoke first, returning to his neutral tone before you could think on something.

"Really?" you smiled and began to unwrap your dinner. "You liked it?"

" _I'm enjoying it, though I find the prince character quite obnoxious._ "

A laugh burst from you. "I thought you might say that. But give him a chance, he’ll figure things out." It was amazing how relaxed you were now and that did whet your appetite. "Well, I'm going to eat my big dinner for one," you said smiling at the size of the soup. "Thanks again. Have a good night."

"Enjoy your food," he said, and you perceived a smile on his voice. Then he hung up.

How did he think you were going to eat all this at this hour? It was too much, even dessert. So, you opened the soup that was still hot and after giving it a big sniff -it smelled delicious- you started eating it. You felt so relieved, so light. You realized then that you’d been so upset by what he’d told you when you brought him the book, because it was true. He was right. You’d been neglecting yourself and dying in a hole for Gladio. And you weren't going to do it anymore.

Smiling from ear to ear, you took your control again and returned to your mission while you finished your amazing dinner. This time you had to escort a senior military man and prevent his plane from being destroyed. Easy peasy. Your specialty was caring.

What an amazing ability Ravus had to get you out of your worst moments. And you barely knew each other.

Maybe it wasn't you who was helping him.

<>

The next day you had to be early in the hospital for a major leg replacement surgery for a patient worker at the Exineris plant in Lestallum who fell from one of the towers while she was repairing the malfunctioning ropeway system, so you wouldn't go to the Citadel in the whole day.

When you were already changed in your hospital uniform and before leaving the locker room, you felt the need to take a look at your cell phone and see, for the umpteenth time in recent days, the text message that Ravus sent you. It turned out that the day he’d given you the poetry book and that you texted him, he did answer you while you were sleeping, and you discovered his message the next morning.

It was short, simple, and there had been no other message after that, but you couldn't stop reading it over and over again since that day.

So, you took your phone and unlocked it with your fingerprint to discover this time that there was a message from Gladio. That was new. After rereading Ravus's message, you reluctantly opened Gladio's, saw it, hesitated to reply, and finally left it on read. It was the best.

You put your phone back in your locker and taking a deep breath you left for the surgery room where they were already waiting for you. The image of Ravus' message in your mind that always made you smile.

Always.

It was a new day and this was a new you.

<>

Ravus: _No_

Ravus: _Thank **you**_

-

Gladio: _I’m sorry_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: hey, this chapter seems too long.
> 
> Also me: hey, why don't we describe a scene from another videogame? Yeah. Why not?
> 
> -
> 
> Thanks again.


	6. In the distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you think I forgot about you? No, sir. And speaking of long chapters, here it is, but I think some things had to happen.
> 
> For today's menu we have a delightful fast karma soup, a main course of u̶n̶expected revelations, a red velvet dessert and, as a pairing, a blue martini with a lot of alcohol, semiconscious smut and a confusing hangover. 
> 
> Enjoy.

"That was what you tried to tell me that day, wasn't it?" you said as you tied your hair up into a ponytail and put on your apron.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ignis replied as he lit the stove's fire. "Though I must admit that for a moment I wasn't going to interfere." You took the vegetables that he'd left on the counter and put them on the cutting board while he placed the pan with oil on the stove. "Gladio is a very dear friend of mine, but I found his behavior quite wrong and unfair with you."

You hummed while you were cutting the onion. "Thank you. I suppose the outcome would've been the same, anyway," you shrugged.

"I agree," he said as he stirred the sauce, with a corner of his mouth pulled up into the barest of the smiles, "but it would have taken a weight off my shoulders."

That brought out a chuckle from you. You loved this plan and it had been several weeks since the last time you and Ignis had met to cook together and talk. It was a little group therapy you started to do since you were with Gladio and discovered the common taste you both had for good food and more for making it at home. You drank wine, cooked something delicious and special and talked about everything and nothing.

This time was the occasion to prepare lasagna in his apartment. A flat almost as big as yours, sober but beautifully decorated and spotless. You didn't know how he managed to keep it that way. And it was the occasion to talk about your turbulent second breakup with Gladio and his affair with that glaive that Ignis had accidentally found out when seeing them after a workout, a couple of weeks before your coming back.

"I'm sorry this had put you in that position," you said as you slide the onion in the hot oil. A couple of drops jumped to your hand and you hissed, wiping you off with the apron. "That was precisely what I wanted to avoid. Awkward things between you all."

"There's none of it. But he told me that he has tried to contact you again several times," he spoke as he took your hand immediately and put it under the stream of cold water from the sink. A trick that you taught him long ago to avoid burns in the kitchen.

"With a dozen messages, yes," you took your hand off the water and gave him a grateful smile. "I just feel I don't have anything to say to him," you mused as you dried your hands with a paper towel and went to get the ground beef out of the fridge.

"Understandable. I wouldn't pay too much attention to it if I were you," he took the meat from your hands and put it in the pan.

You made a small laugh as you set the refractory to assemble the dish. "No, because my attention has been on Ravus lately." Ignis turned to look at you with intrigue and a raised brow as he mixed the meat with the sauce. "I mean on his arm," you amended, and he made a slight smirk, "he's just about to move it and then he'll be ready."

You began to put on the pasta and cheese layers while Ignis put on the meat and vegetable ones. The smell made you drool a little. "And then he will return to Tenebrae," Ignis said as he put on the last layer.

"Yeah...," you mumbled as you covered it with pasta and a decent amount of cheese and then he took the refractory, bending down to put it in the oven. As he did it and checked the temperature, you went silent, leaning a hand on the counter. Ignis got up then and looked at you amused as he wiped his hands. "What?" you asked, narrowing your eyes.

"Nothing," he smirked as he took off his apron and you did the same. "I just find it interesting that you two got along so well"

You huffed a laugh through your nose. "Sure, and that's why I had to put up with his little outburst," you said as you washed your hands on the sink. Apparently, you didn't have any burns.

"Well," he spoke as he took a wine bottle from the the small shelf he had on top of the counter next to the fridge. "If you managed to survive that I think you'll do just fine." You laughed then and he turned with the bottle in one hand. "Would you like some wine?"

"You know the answer," you replied as you sat on one of the high benches on the kitchen. He took two glasses, filling them at an appropriate height, and sat across from you, sliding one glass to your side and resting his forearms on the marbled surface. "Thank you," you smiled. "Cheers," you raised it in front of him.

"What should we toast for?" he raised his glass.

"For the hardships of our jobs," you spoke ceremoniously.

He chuckled and delicately collided your glass with his, raising his brows. "And for the rewards."

<>

The Citadel seemed hectic that morning, it somehow reminded you of the day Ravus arrived. Several were hurrying from side to side, there were guards at the entrance, from Lucis and Tenebrae, but what caught your attention was that people seemed worried. Or scared.

You decided not to pay more attention to it and not catch the vibe that was felt in the air, walking directly to Ravus' rooms. Upon arrival, Aranea greeted you while the therapist was leaving, who gave you a satisfied smile before going out. You hoped it was a good sign.

Ravus was standing in the middle of the space where he always did his exercises, rubbing his left shoulder. His hair was tied back, shining whitish from the sun streaming through the window, making the strong line of his jaw more visible as he tilted his head with every movement of the shoulder, and the white T-shirt he was wearing was unnecessarily highlighting the muscles of his back and abdomen as it pressed against the biceps of his right arm while he flexed it to reach his aching joint.

Aranea cleared her throat behind you and that shamefully snapped you out of your contemplation as Ravus turned his gaze to you. "Hi," you said without showing an iota of the thoughts you were having and walked towards him. He stopped working his arm and straightened as you got closer. "How was it?"

"Barely progress," he answered while clenched and relaxed his prosthetic hand. His cheekbones seemed sharper without the distraction of his hair.

You hummed and bite at the inside of your lip, thoughtful, looking here and there for something that might be useful to you. "Come here," you said suddenly, going to the big mirror that took up an entire wall, "I have an idea."

"We've already tried the mirror," he replied incredulously without moving from his place.

"Just come," you put your hands on your hips and he reluctantly walked to stand by your side. You obviously knew this was part of the therapy, especially to manage phantom pain, but you had to give a try.

"Alright," you took your position with arms extended, "follow me and don't look at your reflection, only at my arms."

He stared at your reflection for a second and, after sighing, he extended his right arm fully and his left as far as he could, that wasn't so far. Then you started to raise and lower your arms at the same time, as if flapping slowly, while he, visibly unamused, began to do the same with his right arm and tried it with his left, while keeping his eyes fixed on your movements.

"Just imagine you're a little chocobo trying to fly," you joked, holding back a laugh at his expression and he just gave you a flat look. "Don't tell me you'd already tried that."

"And perhaps it didn't work because I'm clearly not a chocobo," he backfired. This time you couldn't help but make a small smile, pressing your lips together to avoid laughing.

"Maybe I didn't think it over well and I should have put you a wing instead of an arm," you continued picking on him. Gods, his face was priceless while he waved his upper limbs. He looked like a cat when is dressed in funny clothes and is being forced to sit still for a photo. You would have paid Prompto to come right now, even if the two of you had to run later for your lives.

"You know what, guys?" Aranea said from the other side of the room with a grin on her face. "I think I'm going to go laugh outside." You laughed, looking at her on the mirror as you waved your arms more vigorously as if you were really trying to fly and she left, shooking her head.

Going back to your normal takeoff speed with a smirk on your face, you saw Ravus looking at his reflection. "Hey, eyes on me," you reminded him, and he returned his gaze to you, frowning -obviously-, but still following your buffoonery lead. "Do you know what's great about this?" you kept going.

"What?" he said gruff and visibly annoyed, but you didn’t care.

With your best faked serious face, you spoke, although you had perfect knowledge of what could happen. "That if you keep doing it maybe you can fly out the window."

He suddenly stopped in his movements and turned around. "This is ridiculous, you're just jesting with me," he grunted as he walked away.

"Do you really think so?" you said between a laugh, following him with your eyes and letting go of the stupid motion. "Because I just saw you moved your arm."

He came to a halt on his steps and turned to you, knitting his brows in disbelief. "I'm not joking," you said shaking your head and smiling long, then biting your lower lip. He had really moved his arm and you couldn't hide the happiness that made you feel. "Try it."

He didn't seem to believe what he was hearing for a second, but then he walked slowly without taking his eyes off you as you continued to smile and stood next to you again. Then he looked at himself in the mirror and slowly began to raise his arms. Obviously, the right one went up without a problem, but he widened his eyes as soon as he noticed that the left one started to rise much further than he’d been able to lift until now.

You laughed then, happiness invaded you and you almost felt like crying. You couldn't stop watching him move his arm up and down over and over, flex it, and even manage to bring his hand to his other shoulder with a little effort. You couldn't stop watching his face either, it had you so moved. His slightly arched eyebrows and eyes wide open following every movement, without a single wrinkle on his features, without a frown. He looked like a child.

You were looking at him with sparkling eyes and a touched smile when his heterochromatic eyes found yours in the reflection. The smile grew on your face and you almost saw him smile too, then he turned to you and took a couple of steps to get closer. Facing each other, you took his prosthetic hand with both yours and smiled at its palm, squeezing it from both sides, and then smiled at him. “You made it.” For some reason, the words in your mouth sounded bittersweet.

His eyes pinned in yours seemed to glow, flickering slowly, going to your right one, then to the left. He moved his metallic thumb and with it seemed to caress the back of one of your hands, then, taking another slow step closer to you, he raised his right hand and with the tips of his fingers, he arranged a lock of your hair behind your ear, caressing your lobe slowly right after, then your cheek and your jaw up to the chin, taking it for a second delicately between his index and thumb and finally letting go.

The electricity from his touch ran through your whole body and your heart raced so fast that you thought it was going to jump out of your chest. His eyes followed the entire path of his hand on your face and then returned to you, both breathing fast and short and you were so stunned that you didn't let go of his metal hand.

Your eyes were locked on each other, with no sense from the world around you, when you heard the sudden opening of the room door and you immediately released his hand, pulling away from him a couple of steps back and turning to see Lunafreya entering, followed by Noctis and Gladio. The first two were speaking and laughing, but Gladio transformed his expression when he spotted you. He scowled and raised his shoulders a bit. Only it wasn't you who he was looking at.

You turned around slowly to see that Ravus was matching Gladio's gaze. His frown returned and if his eyes could throw daggers, now Noctis would need a new shield. You didn't think Ravus knew about what had happened between you and Gladio, but he looked truly upset for the interruption.

While the staring contest was taking place, Lunafreya approached and you greeted her, still flushed for your recent _moment_ with Ravus. "I'm glad to see you here," she sweetly said with that kind smile of hers, which you returned. "Please, don't mind us. We'll be leaving shortly." She smiled at her brother, turned on her heels and went back to Noctis, who was typing fast in his phone, and yours, casually, vibrated right after in your pocket.

Taking it out, you read his message in the notification box.

Noctis: _what's going on there_

Noctis: _?_

Faking dementia, you looked up at him and shrugged in the sneakiest way possible, slightly raising your eyebrows and discreetly pursing your lips in a questioning grimace, taking care that Gladio and Ravus didn't see you. Noctis just smirked and went back to his conversation with Lunafreya.

"Follow me," Ravus told you passing you by, heading towards his bedroom. The sudden proposal left you confused for a moment and you didn't move, your eyes going from his back getting away to the face of his sister, who had the subtlest of smiles. As if returning to this world, you reacted and walked after him, entering his bedroom and finding Gladio's gaze through the narrowing gap as you closed the door.

"I believe this is yours," he said while you turned to him and handed you the poetry book that you'd left that day after your argument. Smiling again at the sight of it, you took it and raised your face to meet his eyes.

"I thought I lost it," you spoke with a hint of playfulness.

With a serene expression, he looked at you and the corners of his lips curved softly into an ephemeral smile as he blinked once, just once, slowly. You had no choice but to reciprocate the gesture, with a less self-conscious smile.

“Was the chocobo nonsense truly necessary?” he asked after a second, aiming his gaze at his left arm momentarily.

You had to suppress the fit of laughter that seemed imminent and instead just a short smile came out. “Of course, it was.” Your eyes sparkled with contained laughter, but you intoned your best trained voice. He stared at you in amused disbelief, waiting for you to confess your crime, and you couldn't resist. “Okay, maybe I was distracting you a little.” you said, composing yourself and letting out an honest, tiny laugh and he shook his head in entertained disapproval. “But,” you cut quickly, raising a hand in sign of peace, “it was everything in the name of science.”

“Well,” he said as he turned around to go to the window, and you could have sworn he did it so you couldn’t see how he was smiling. “Although I find your methods quite unusual, I must admit that they’re effective.” And he raised his arm, his elbow reaching almost shoulder height and curled the fingers of his hand into a fist.

You chuckled, but the sound quickly morphed into a sad silence, and you sighed. “You can return home now," your voice came out grim without realizing it.

And he seemed to notice it because he looked at you askance and slowly lowered his arm again, returning his eyes to the window. "Yes. There are issues that must be attended."

You nodded thoughtfully even though he wasn't looking at you. "Of course," it was all you could think of to reply. You realized then that you had your head down so you straightened up and took a breath, ready to leave. "Well, I-"

"Would you come to Tenebrae?" he cut you mid-sentence, keeping his eyes in the horizon.

You halted at the sudden question and answered in the most logical way. "Um..."

Okay, let's try again.

"Yeah," you said, regaining your composure. "I mean, that's the plan. I must check on you again sometime after you leave."

Then he turned to you with a serene expression on his face and nodded. The sunlight through the window illuminated him from behind and the shadows that it formed seemed to sharpen his features; the contours that his shirt outlined on his chest and abdomen appeared deeper and it made it looked like the fabric was tighter than it actually was.

After swallowing, you smiled. It seemed that a long silence had passed although it had only been a few seconds. "I have to go," you said softly but without meaning it.

"Of course," he replied after a beat.

You tried to say something but the words didn't seem to articulate and they got stuck somewhere, so you just clumsily raised the book in your hand, gave him a smile, and almost ran out of the room.

Closing the door, pulling it with your hand towards you, you stopped for a millisecond considering going back inside. But you held back and, turning around, you found yourself face to face with Gladio, who stood in your way with his arms crossed. Taking a quick look around, you saw no signs of Lunafreya or Noctis, so you just walked past him, completely ignoring him like a big column in the middle of the room, and went out the front door.

Then your name echoed in the hallway, pronounced by a deep and harsh voice. You turned reluctantly, without emitting a word, and faced him.

"Are you gonna keep avoiding me?" Gladio didn't waste time and spoke just outside the room. His brows together and jaw clenched. The mouth a complete flat line.

"No," you replied, crossing your arms under your chest, and resting your weight in one foot, "I'm just going to keep avoiding the places where you might be and your text messages."

He sighed heavily and took a step closer to you. "I know I screwed up, okay? But I need to tell you what happened."

"Oh, I think I know what happened, I don't need to hear it from you."

"Just-," he pursed his lips and squeezed his eyes, raising his hands and clenching them into fists. You knew he hated when you got stubborn, but you didn't care anymore. "Just listen to me."

Now you sighed very loudly and switched your weight to the other foot. "Are you going to tell me that this was a big misunderstanding? Alright," you smiled ironically, "speak."

He glared at your sudden, sharp command but proceeded, anyway. "Listen," taking a couple more steps towards you, "some time ago I was assigned to approach Crowe because they suspected she could be related to a rebel faction." His frown was gone, and he marked every word with his large hands. "We started to hang out and I discovered that she wasn't involved in anything. But yes," dropping his arms to his sides, "I began to like her, and we started dating, but it was before you and I... spoke again. I... really missed you, but... she was always there."

You were supposed to feel better about this now? Was he seriously trying to flip this to make it look like it was _your_ fault? Damn, he really sucked at apologizing.

"Okay," you spoke, nodding with a fake face of understanding, "so you found someone who could give you all her time, you slept with her in the name of the kingdom, and only _then_ you looked for me" you shrugged. "I totally forgive you now," then uncrossed your arms, turned around, and started walking back to the elevator.

"What?" he asked with voice suddenly splashed with confusion. Sure guts this guy had to play dumb now.

You turned again, irritated. "What _what_?"

"What do you mean I slept with her?" His frowned returned to his face.

Oh, for the gods, really? You crossed your arms again and look at him, incredulous. "Um, that you fucked her? Do I have to draw it for you or something?" This little game was ridiculous and was already starting to bore you.

"I didn't sleep with her," he answered after a second, talking with quieter voice than before.

"What?"

That…made no sense. Surely, he was playing with you, but you believed nothing from him at this point.

"I haven't. Not even once," he said, slightly shaking his head. His voice sounded... sincere, but it was impossible.

"But she...," you doubted in your next words and he stared at you in expectation. "She told me that she had... That weekend when you and I..."

He huffed a perplexed laugh through his nose and looked at the floor. "Well... it wasn't with me," returning his eyes to you and raising his bushy eyebrows in bewilderment.

You gaped for a second and blinked. "Well, shit."

He leaned back against the wall without saying anything while scratching his beard and you just stood there with your arms crossed, biting the inside of your cheek. You didn't see this coming, and he neither, apparently.

"Karma's a bitch, huh?" he said after some beats, making some form of sad smile.

You hummed. "Yeah..."

You couldn't say you felt bad for him, but you weren't happy either. Uncrossing your arms and after sighing, you looked at him. "I should go now," you spoke quietly as you turned around to go your way. He stayed there, leaned against the wall with his gaze on the ceiling.

"Wait," his hoarse voice called you and you slightly turned your torso without completely turning your body towards him. He turned away from the wall and took a step closer to you. "Is... There's no turning back now, right?"

You considered him for a moment and after a short sigh, you completely turned your body. "Gladio, I..." Yes, you were upset but you didn't want to hurt him. "You’re very special for me, but... I can't go through this again... I'm sorry."

"I know," he said in low voice, tracing your features with his eyes. "... I know."

Pursing your lips, you gave him a last gaze. You took one, two steps back, and then turned on your heels and left, heading towards the elevator. It felt definitive this time as you were standing there waiting for it, and with that feeling you got in and the doors closed.

Inside the elevator you stared at the floor. You felt sad, but not enough to cry. You felt insecure, but not like to return. All you knew was that the big metal box started to move and the numbers on the screen went down.

You were going to the underground parking lot, where your car was, but the elevator stopped on the main floor. When the doors opened, you raised your gaze and a tall man with red-purple hair appeared right in front of you, surrounded by men from Lucis' guard. He had a black hat, a long neckerchief with an elaborate design, a very long black overcoat and a small smirk on his face that matched his piercing olive-green eyes.

Without taking his eyes off you, he took off his hat, taking it by the top with one hand in a practiced and theatrical motion. "I beg your pardon. Is this elevator going up?" he politely asked in melodic voice with the accent of royalty, slightly raising his brows and secretly sliding the toe of his shoe to lock the door

Feeling suddenly uncomfortable with his gaze and with the increased tension of the guards by his movement, you frowned involuntarily. "No, it's going down."

"Oh," the smirk on his face seemed to grow and took his foot off the door. "Of course, it is," and the doors closed as you watched his eyes on yours as he leaned slightly to the side to put his hat back on. What an uncomfortable feeling that man's eyes left you. You had no idea who he could be, but such security around him didn't give you the slightest confidence.

You left almost petrified until the elevator reached your destination and reopened. Taking a couple of steps, you walked out, standing right outside, and listening as the doors closed again behind you.

Looking down at the gray ground, you consciously breathed a few times and then you remembered that you were holding something in your hand, so you squeezed the poetry book, lifting it up to your low eye. The small ribbon that served as a separator was indicating a page again, but if your memory didn't fail, it was the same one from the poem you'd already read, so you put it back down and a slight smile crossed your face at the memory of the words.

And at the memory of Ravus.

And his hand running over your face.

<>

It was a cold morning. The sky was overcast, the dark clouds and the freezing cold indicated that it would rain soon. In the distance, thunder could be heard and people walked hurriedly preventing the downpour that would come at any minute, while you looked at them through the wide window of your office, with your hands in the pockets of your white coat.

How suitable this weather was.

A few days had passed, and he was already moving his arm normally. Now he was used to it, no longer needed any help and, thanks to his sister, the pain was almost non-existent or humanly bearable.

So Ravus would be leaving today. And the gods knew it.

As the first thick drops of rain begin to fall against the window, your phone chimed in your pocket.

"Hi," you spoke as you watched people now run to seek refuge in the great arms of the Citadel.

" _Hello_ ," Ignis greeted. " _He's about to leave_."

Lightning struck very close and thunder was heard almost immediately. "I'll be right there. Thanks," and after a second you hung up, putting your phone back in your pocket.

You took a deep breath as the downpour raged, and for a moment you thought that perhaps it would stop the departure of his airship. But it wasn't going to last all day. So, you took off your white coat, put on your jacket and headed for the elevator that would take you to the parking lot where the car would be waiting for him.

It'd been arranged to be so, not only because of the untimely rain, but to avoid any unwanted encounters or photos of the press from the main entrance. You all already knew what they were capable of. He'd told you that he knew he would have to appear in public sometime, but that day would not be today.

A couple more people got into the elevator, but you didn't look at them. For being too absorbed in your thoughts or for not wanting someone to see your face right now. You were transparent. An open book for anyone to see. So, you kept your eyes on the buttons and your hands on the pockets of your jacket, until a _ding_ marked the stop of those people and they got off, finally leaving you alone with your musings.

The door opened then on the first level of the underground parking lot and after adjusting your jacket, you went out and walked to where the group of people you recognized was, taking a deep breath as you went their way. Lunafreya was saying goodbye to Noctis as he stroked her cheek and held her other hand with his. Behind him, a few steps away, were Gladio and Prompto, laughing among themselves, and turning his back on the happy couple, as expected, Ravus was crossing a few words with Ignis and Aranea. All close to the three cars that were already waiting. Some men from Tenebrae's guard were posted at the exit, a man in a white raincoat waited by the first car and another with a similar black one waited at the last.

The first to notice your arrival was Aranea, who smiled and greeted you by raising her chin briefly, then Ignis waved at you and Ravus turned around. How different he looked now even though he had the same clothes he wore the day you met him. The same white coat, but now correctly put on, each arm in each sleeve. His back seemed wider now than it was then.

Realizing your arrival, Lunafreya gave Noctis an apologetic smile, releasing his hands, and came to greet you, making those funny sounds with her heels and taking your hands in hers as soon as she reached you.

"I have no words to thank you for everything you did for my brother," she said with that ever so kind smile of hers that always warmed your heart.

Despite your unease, especially when you met Ravus' gaze before she greeted you, you smiled, but felt it came out too notoriously sad. "There's nothing to be thankful for, Lady Lunafreya. It was my job."

She giggled graciously and slightly shook her head. "Please, call me Luna," and those big blue eyes caught yours.

That made you make a small chuckle. She always managed to do that. "Alright," you nodded. "Thank you for everything, Luna."

Ravus watched the exchange closely from behind, but you didn't dare meet his eyes, so you stayed focused on her and her expressive face that made you feel better for a moment. That was her true power. "You're going to come to Tenebrae, aren't you?" she asked with wide eyes, squeezing your hands just a bit more, and the smile somehow grew on your face.

"Of course," you nodded, and she gently released your hands, smiling as she did it while she took a step back. "I'll be there." Then she clasped her hands together in front and nodded tenderly. You totally understood why Noctis had fallen in love with her, it was impossible not to love that girl.

You saw Gladio and Prompto out of the corner of your eye and they were silent, just watching you. As Ravus started walking towards you then, Luna returned with Noctis, taking him by the arm and pulling him away slightly. You felt that your heart was going to stop at any moment while those heterochromatic eyes didn't move away from you as they approached.

When he reached you, he smiled. Ravus smiled. The simplest and lightest of smiles, but there it was, and you almost wanted to cry. He only looked at you for a couple of seconds and then extended his right hand towards you.

Okay, handshake, you could do that. It wasn't what you expected, but you would take it anyway. So you reached out your hand and he took it delicately in his, brought it to his lips and, closing his eyes, planted a kiss on the back of it so soft and so lasting that your face went through all shades of red. There was so much silence around you that you could hear your heart pounding in your ears, and you felt like the air was starting to run out.

Then, without releasing it, he brought your hand close to his chest and held it there while his eyes returned to yours. "Thank you," he said. His raspy, deep voice even softer than his kiss. His eyes went from side to side without deciding which of yours to look at and the lights of the parking lot ceiling seemed to sprinkle them with small bright drops.

"It was a pleasure," you managed to say, smiling, "Your Highness." And his tiny chuckle in response almost made you die. You could have hugged him right there, but that would have been too much. A small silence remained between you as you looked at each other and you felt how the impulses were beginning to gain ground. That was not going to happen. "I'll see you soon, Ravus," you quietly spoke, trying to gather yourself.

He nodded, locked in your eyes blinking once, then squeezed your hand just the slightest bit and released it, gently running his thumb and index over your middle finger until the tips touched yours and you felt all the skin stand up from your arm to your back. "I'll be waiting," he said as he took a step back.

He looked at you for a couple of seconds, you smiled at him and then he turned around and opened the car door. That was the signal for Luna to say goodbye to Noctis. He tenderly kissed her hands, thing you've never seen him do, then she waved goodbye to everyone and got into it while Ravus was holding the door. He gave you one last look, and, after a small smile, he followed her inside.

"See you there, doc," Aranea came to you with arms crossed while you were staring at the car. You turned your gaze to her, returning the smile she was giving.

"Thanks for everything, Aranea," you said after nodding once. She smirked, placing her hands on her hips, and went to get in the first car with the man in the white raincoat.

The other men got into the cars and the guards at the entrance took other positions. You put your hands in the pockets of your jacket, clenching them into fists in an attempt to capture the feeling that the kiss had left in you, while the cars started and you watched with a small smile on your face as Ravus followed you with his eyes through the semi-darkened glass, until he lost sight of you.

The cars dissappeared, leaving the parking lot, but the guards didn't move. You stood there for a few more heartbeats, just watching the exit and seeing how the downpour had already subsided. Then, you turned around and met Gladio's gaze, but you couldn't read the expression on his face. It was a mix between longing and defeat that you couldn't bear, so without saying more, you just said goodbye to everyone and walked to your car on the other side of that same level.

Upon entering, you closed the car door and leaned back in your chair, letting out a long, deep sigh. Your work was done and now Ravus could resume his life where he'd left it.

And you would continue with yours.

<>

Ok, Friday night.

Lying on your sofa, you were watching a movie, again. A girl obsessed with finding the man of her dreams who misinterprets all possible signs while another couple falls apart because he has never believed in marriage even though they've been married for years; a man is unfaithful to his wife and another girl seems to be unable to do otherwise than dating online.

How depressing. So, you sighed.

Today had been... mechanical. You got up, went to the Citadel, attended to your patients, had lunch, left for the hospital, attended to your queries there and returned home. You missed going to visit Ravus upon arrival at the Citadel and before leaving in the afternoon. You missed him.

You missed him.

Shit.

You got up from your couch and quickly picked up the phone, then dialed and prayed to the gods that he answers you while the _beeps_ sounded.

" _What's up?_ " he asked excited.

"Xavier, I need party ASAP."

" _Hey, you okay?_ " he spoke, suddenly concerned, as if it were the weirdest thing you've ever asked for. Asshole.

"Can you help me or not? I know more crazy people, you know?"

He chuckled and then gave an amused sigh. " _I doubt it. What do you want to forget?_ " You could almost see him with that damn smirk on his face when he wanted to pick on you. " _Or who?_ "

"Shut up," you replied and stood up from your couch, heading to your bedroom. "Just tell me the time and place."

And the moron dared to chuckle again. " _I'll pick you up in two hours. Get pretty,_ " the smile on his voice remained and that made you smile, too.

"I'm always pretty, you prat."

Between a laugh he spoke. " _See you then,_ " and he hung up. How much you loved this idiot.

Okay, so you had two hours to get dressed to kill. You chose a black dress that reached to a little above mid-thigh, sleeves to the elbow and a V-neckline. You took a bath, ate something, fixed your hair, put on makeup and before putting on your dress you looked in the mirror on your dresser. It's been a long time since you did this, and you really needed it. There was a lot you needed to release and what better than a dance floor, alcohol, and the infallible Xavier to reset your brain.

With your dress on, you were putting on your most comfortable heels when your intercom buzzed. Without even asking who it was, you pressed the button to open and finished placing them on your feet, waiting for the knock on the door that came a couple of minutes later and you opened.

"Wow!" Prompto greeted you, widening his eyes and giving you a nothing subtle once over.

You laughed then. "Hey, Prom! What are you doing here?" placing a hand on one hip and resting your weight on the opposite foot.

He stuttered for a second and then smiled at you, abashed. "I- Xavier invited me. He's downstairs." Of course, smoking. "Are you- ready?"

"What do you think?" you smirked and turned around very slowly, stopping for a moment for him to look at your butt and laughing then.

"I-I think you are," he said as he closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them to focus his gaze on your face. Poor thing, you were amused to see him blush, but you had promised not to pester him so much.

"Alright, wait," you took your phone, keys, wallet, and your coat and went out of your apartment, hooking him by the elbow. "Now let's get some party."

You both went down the stairs laughing and met Xavier at the main entrance who was already stepping on the half of his cigarette on the floor. He never smoked them whole.

"I told you to get pretty," he said as soon as he turned to you and you punched him in his arm. He laughed and put an arm around your shoulder. "Not too damn hot." And then the three of you laughed and walked to the corner to take a cab.

After a few minutes of taxi ride and seeing Prompto constantly embarrassed because of Xavier who kept jokingly touching your legs just to bother him, you arrived at the place. And someone you knew seemed to be waiting at the door.

"Hi, Nyx," You greeted him when you got out of the car after Xavier gentlemanly helped you so that your dignity was not exposed. Stupid short skirts.

Nyx subtly looked you up and down, but his beautiful eyes lingered on yours with discreet fierceness. He looked so good with his leather jacket. "Good night, doctor," he nodded and made the lightest of the smiles.

"I'm no doctor tonight," you smiled at him and entered the place following Xavier where the loud music resounded in your chest and you felt how it was already filling you up with adrenaline. Perfect.

Once inside, you let yourself be embraced by the darkness constantly interrupted by the flickering lights, the hustle and bustle of the people and their energy as they jumped and danced to the rhythm of the deep beat. Xavier knew you so well that he knew that you were not looking for something quiet today. You followed him until you reached the table and some of his friends were already waiting for you. You knew some, so you greeted them and sat with the others in the empty chairs.

"Hope you don't mind that I invited Nyx," Prompto approached your ear and almost had to shout next to you because of the pumping music and the loud voice of the others as they greeted Xavier.

"Of course not," now you get close to his ear, "but I hope he can dance."

Prompto gave you a thumbs-up and a grimace nodding so you wouldn't worry about Nyx's dancing skills. That made you laugh and met Nyx's eyes, who was looking at you from your diagonal, reclining in the chair.

"Alright!" Xavier said, reaching you a great, colorful cocktail from behind your back while one waiter served Prompto another and Nyx a beer. You didn't even bother asking him what it contained, he was your doctor tonight and you trusted him. "Cheers, my friends!" and you all raised your drinks, then hitting them in the center of the table. Some spilled a little and the laughter came as you sipped your colorful elixir.

Oh, yeah. The strong and sweet concoction seemed to connect with each nerve terminal inside you as it went down your throat. So, you took another longer sip, and another while the others laughed at something stupid one of them had said, leaving the glass almost empty. This was just what you needed.

Nyx watched you curiously from his chair as he drank his beer. Yes, it was obvious that you wanted to drink until unconsciousness, but you didn't care. So, you smiled at him mischievously, but it faded when an unpleasantly familiar voice spoke from behind you. This, you didn't need.

"What's up," Gladio greeted but you didn't turn around. Prompto got up to greet him and Xavier shot him a glance from across the table. You assumed the blonde had invited him and for a moment you wanted to hang him, but you had to get used to the fact that they were friends and you’d have to see from time to time. But then you heard another voice and understood that it was probably not Prompto who’d brought the big guy.

Crowe appeared by your side and went to greet Nyx, sitting next to him, then Gladio followed her, bringing an empty chair from another table, and placing it next to her. When he met your gaze, he didn’t take his eyes off you. You realized that he looked at your dress, your hair, and the cocktail that you had almost empty on the table. Nyx and Crowe were talking, and the others were laughing, Prompto was saying something you couldn't hear and out of the corner of your eye you saw Xavier approaching you.

“Come to dance,” he said moving his hand. You smiled at him, finished your drink in one sip, and you got up from the table staring into Gladio's eyes, who held your gaze for a second and then went all over you as you stood.

“That’s why we’re here,” you smirked and arranged your dress on purpose. Gladio's eyes were not the only ones that settled on you. “You come, Prom?”

“Hell yeah!” the blond jumped out of the chair, already energized and a little blushed by the alcohol, and took the hand you had extended towards him. Then the three of you made your way to the dance floor, but not before receiving a hard glance from Gladio. There was no chance that you’d come back to that table in the rest of the night.

Once on the floor, you let the music enveloped you with the alcohol that was already in your bloodstream, while Xavier and Prompto danced with you. At least someone here knew how to have fun. The rhythmic lows and the exciting melody transported you to a place you never wanted to leave. You moved your hips and arms in time with the loud boom as your hair fluttered and you began to sweat, and without realizing when he was gone, Xavier returned with another long glass of alcohol and handed it to you while you kept dancing.

“Cheers!” he shouted again, and you hit your glass against his and Prompto’s as you chanted the word. You drank almost all of it in a sip and Xavier smiled, jumping higher to the beat of the music and Prompto and you followed him, laughing, and screaming with your hands in the air. Then another drink came when some other song was playing, and another, and another, and another. Xavier and Prompto began to dance close to each other, but you didn’t pay attention to it and continued dancing alone, your senses already a bit gone by the amount of alcohol that was already in your system, when a hand took you by the waist from behind and a manly voice you recognized spoke in your ear.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he said, speaking so close that only you could hear him. You smiled at the voice and placed your hand over his and sent your other hand back to grab his other. You were sure that his left hand was cold on contact with your skin, but now it was warm and gentle. With both hands on your waist you started to move slower while leaning your head back slightly to rest on his shoulder and he matched your pace, grabbing you tightly and closer against him, lowering his head to bury his face in the crook of your neck.

Restless hands began to caress your abdomen over your dress, but you didn't stop them. Then the hands went down your hips, stopping there for a moment as you tantalizingly rocked them, only to find their place just about where your dress ended. In a gentle movement the fingertips slowly began to slide your dress up to find a small spot of bare skin, staying there for the rest of the song as the two of you were swinging to the music. You never suspected that he could dance like this.

In a quick movement you turned around and put your arms around his neck. The lights illuminated the right half of his face and you could see his blue eye, staring at you with desire. You smiled, delighted by the sight and he gripped your waist tighter, leaning forward and meeting your lips in a passionate kiss that almost left you breathless as his tongue found yours in a wet dance as your bodies did.

“Would you come with me somewhere else?” he asked when your lips parted, and your foreheads were against one another. You smiled pleased and taking a step away from him you took his hand and led him to the table where your stuff was. Things around you were slightly blurred but near to the table, you found Xavier who was hugging Prompto and handed you another shot of something, which you took without hesitation and then another when he gave you a smile as he saw your partner.

From there on, you got lost.

There was no one at the table, so you just grabbed your coat and left the place without letting go of his hand, staggering a little at times, until he took you tightly around the waist, preventing you from falling. The next thing you saw was being in a cab, kissing him non-stop as he ran his hand over your leg, and you tugged at his shirt.

Then you were in an apartment, his lips kissing you frantically but incredibly as his hands ran all the way under the fabric of your dress. You no longer had shoes and he no longer had a jacket, and you didn’t even turn on the lights. You desperately pulled up his shirt and took it off so he would almost rip your dress off, pulling it up, and you scratched his chest, stroking it eagerly, as he let out a low moan. His strong muscles tensed under your longing hands and you melted under the touch of his, roaming all over your thighs, your stomach, and his warm tongue tracing its path from your neck to your breasts as you panted and whimper in neediness.

When you reached the bed, you pulled on his belt and he found your hands, finishing taking it off. You lay down on the mattress, with the world spinning around you, and he quickly stripped off his pants and underwear, and you couldn’t help but licking your lips and let out a quiet moan at the sight of his hard length in front of you with the only light coming in from the street through the curtains. Then he knelt next to you and removed your panties in one quick motion, positioning between your legs right after and bringing his mouth to your crotch. His wet and hot tongue began to lick between your folds while you twisted and arched your back thanks to his ministrations on your clit as he introduced his fingers between your walls and curled them, finding the exact place, as his other grabbed firmly your thigh.

Your climax was close, but you felt outside of yourself, his low moans between your thighs sounded distant but sent a wave of pleasure through your entire core. Then, without realizing it, your orgasm hit you with such force that your first impulse was to squeeze his head between your legs and grab the sheets while making a long, loud cry.

Still shrinking inside, the next thing you felt was a great body on you and saw silver strands that fell on your face. An eye was pinned in you, blue but obscured by lust, and a strong hand roaming your side. That was all you wanted. He was all you wanted. Then he kissed you, relentlessly thrusting his tongue into your mouth and you felt your taste in him, but you didn't care, you kissed him back with equal force as your hands ran down his large arms.

How strange. His left arm felt the same as his right. You were trying to find the lines of the metal joints but only found a warm, defined, desirable surface, which you grasped with great strength when you felt that his girth entered you without ceremony, without waiting. You arched your back and let out moan after moan in his ear with each thrust he gave inside you at a strong and needy pace. His panting and his grunts, the sound of the slaps of the skin and the wet noises with every motion filled the air with a melody of ecstasy.

You had him surrounded with your legs while he gripped your thigh and impaled you with such force that the bed rocked, then he suddenly stopped and, leaving you, he took you firmly by the hips and made you turn, lying on your stomach to push himself inside of you again, filling you completely, lifting them towards him so that you could meet each one of his thrusts.

The change in position made you hold onto the pillows while you felt your second orgasm getting closer and closer feeling his thickness reaching your bottom and deliciously brushing your entire interior. He cursed between moans, who would have said so, and began to thrust you with a faster and harder pace, but hearing him was what made you come again around him, raising your ass a bit more so he could go deeper and you could feel the spark all over you, drooling in the pillow and tightening your grasp on it. Then, unable to hold back anymore as you contracted his cock with your walls, gripping your hips tightly and leaning forward, you felt how in irregular and wild movements he reached deep inside you with a loud and low moan, throbbing, giving one, two, three last thrusts before stopping completely, panting and loosening the grip he had on you.

After some beats, giving a whimpering moan when he left you, you rested your whole body on the mattress, settling on one side of the bed to give him space, then he lay down next to you on his left side and you on your stomach, both catching their breath. You hugged the pillow and he rested his right arm on your back, idly caressing you with the tips of his fingers. The world no longer revolved so quickly around you, but due to exhaustion, sleep overcame you almost instantly and, naked, you knew nothing more about yourself.

The next morning you opened your eyes and saw a pair of closed curtains through which little sunlight entered. You had a dry mouth and wanted to continue sleeping, but the thirst and the urge to pee didn't allow it, so you turned to lay on your back, but the headache and dizziness that followed almost kill you.

You took your head in your hands, squeezing your eyes, feeling as if it were going to explode and you wanted to get up for a painkiller, but then you remembered that you didn't know where you were. You opened your eyes slowly and looked aside. Okay, well-known photo and table lamp. You were in your apartment, so you sighed in relief. Then turned your head slowly to avoid the pain and looked the other way.

Fuck.

There he was, lying on his back with his face turned to the side, one hand under his head and his torso naked. That unmistakable hair. As if you couldn't believe it, with effort you got up slightly and propped yourself up on your elbows to get a good view and made sure you weren´t wrong.

"Nyx?" you whispered to yourself. "Shit," you gesticulated without making a sound while closing your eyes in bewilderment, trying not to jerk your head or you could die. Then you looked at yourself and saw that under the sheet that was covering you, you were totally naked. Dammit. You weren't worried about pregnancy because you were on birth control, but dammit.

You took another look at the man deeply asleep next to you and, with an effort, you got up and wrapped yourself in the sheet. You had to get rid of that headache or you wouldn't be a normal person anymore.

Walking to the bathroom, you found the trail of clothes lying on the floor and a used condom. Thank gods. You picked it and went to the bathroom to throw it in the trash bin, and after doing your thing and a grab a painkiller, you went slowly to the living room. When you got there, you found your heels and your jacket at the entrance. You grabbed it and checked that you still had everything, then you took out your phone and grunting and shivering from the pain, you left it on the counter.

There were a couple of rehydration drinks in the fridge, so you took one and after swallowing the analgesic, you began to drink it in long sips. Feeling a bit better, you headed to the couch and sit there, taking your phone with you. You unlocked it and saw the messages that Prompto send you some hours ago, all of them pictures of last night and mostly of the others that were there. But a couple of them caught your attention.

In one of them the focus was on Xavier and Prompto, but behind them Gladio was sitting, doing something on his phone while Crowe, at his side, was arm-crossed, looking to the opposite side with boredom. In the other, there were almost everyone you'd seen at the table, Nyx was holding you by the waist and Gladio, on the other side of the photo, looked at you both askance as you smiled.

Geez, you didn't remember any of that. In fact, there was very little you remembered of last night.

Sipping the liquid, you put the phone aside and lay down on the back of the sofa, closing your eyes and sighing from the hangover, the pain, and the feeling of having done something that maybe you shouldn't have, although you didn't regret it completely. Then opening them, the first thing you saw was the poetry book on your table. You looked at it for a moment and taking it in your hand, you remembered. You remembered that at night you could have sworn you were...

Nevermind.

Pushing those thoughts away, you opened it to read once more the poem that he had so gently left you marked again with the small ribbon. Only you opened the page and the poem was different.

The damn poem was different.

Oh, gods. Was he...?

As you covered your mouth with one hand, you felt how your heart began to pound and pound in your aching head as you read the lines. How could you not read it before he left? You closed it and lay down again on the sofa, squeezing your eyes this time. What were you supposed to do with that now? It wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

Fuck it. You jumped up from your seat, later regretting the wave that shook your brain, but you recovered quickly, took the other bottle of hydrating liquid and returned to the bedroom.

Upon entering, Nyx was already awake and leaned against the headboard, looking at you with sleepy eyes. His naked torso and the sheet covering him from the waist down, but it was too thin so you could see that his legs were open and that something between them indicated that he was ready for another round. What a view.

You swallowed and he smirked. He got out of bed and letting the sheet slide, he exposed all of himself walking towards you. Then he took the bottle you had in his hand and after drinking a long sip, he left it on the table, then slowly taking off the sheet that was covering you, he held your hand and guided you back to bed with him.

What the hell. You’d imagined yourself with another one last night.

You owed him that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must admit that I took my time writing this chapter, (plus I had a lot of work these days), but I hope it was worth it. I really like the path this took and I want to thank you for all the support. It has been really encouraging.
> 
> See you soon and stay safe until then.


	7. It all becomes so clear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, well. Things don't always turn out the way we want, right?

"What was in that drink anyway?" you were talking whit the handsfree on your mouth to have the microphone close because, for some reason, the Bluetooth of your car didn't want to work today.

" _Nothing that would make you hallucinate, of that I'm sure_ ," Xavier answered, teasing you like he always did.

"Hey!" you protested, "I wasn't hallucinating. I was just...," you didn't even know what had happened that night, so you couldn't finish the sentence.

" _What?_ " that amused tone returned to the voice of this dork you had for a friend. " _Letting go of the pent-up desire to fuck Prince Ravus?_ "

“Shut up, Xavier!” you shouted as you listened his burst of laughter on the other end of the line. Traffic was always heavy on Mondays, and there seemed to be no hope of moving forward but talking to him was really helping you pass the time. Even if that meant enduring him.

“ _You can't say that I'm wrong_ ,” he said as he caught his breath while his laughter died. “ _You liked him since you met him_.”

“That’s not true.” That wasn’t true, _right_?

“ _Oh, come on! You’re the smartest person I know so I’m not going to insult your intelligence, but you really didn't notice before?_ ” he continued insistently, and you just grabbed the wheel tighter. “ _The extra attention, the books. You were unbearable that day you argued._ ”

That… wasn’t true. But you had to admit that going to visit him in the morning became a reason to get up, and that although you always devoted yourself to your patients, he really had taken much of that dedication. But it was only because he was a very important patient ... “You're overreacting.”

“ _Alright, alright_ ,” he said, pausing in his assault. “ _Haven't you reached the Citadel?_ ”

“No, I'm stuck here. There seems to be a crash further down the road.”

“ _Wow. How can you be seated for so long after a weekend of rough, dirty, non-stop sex?_ ” He seemed to be hell-bent on harassing you until you reached your destination. What a pain in the ass.

“It wasn’t non-stop,” you replied as you stretched your neck to try to see something further above the car in front. “We watched a movie and ate pizza.”

Xavier chuckled on the other side. “ _I can't believe you stayed with him for two days. That’s against the rules._ ”

“What rules?” Finally, traffic began to move slowly. “None of us had anything to do _and_ he’s really nice.”

“ _And?_ ” he asked, lengthening the word.

“ _And_ he’s great in bed. Why should I deprive myself of that?” you answered with a careless smirk on your face. You really enjoyed the weekend with Nyx and, yes, it could be said that until now you had known each other but things happened, you went through the hangover together and it took a little longer. No big deal.

“ _I'm getting a little worried about how promiscuous you’re becoming_ ,” he talked faking seriousness.

And that made you laugh as you turned the last corner before reaching the Citadel. “Yeah, right. This is all your fault, you know?”

“ _I’ve created a monster_ ,” he sighed.

“Yes, you did,” you chuckled while you entered the way to the parking lot. Fortunately, and because you always preferred to arrive early, you were more than on time to start your work. “Alright, I’m here. See you in the afternoon.”

“ _Okay. Please don't seduce anyone along the way_.”

“Ha, ha. Funny. Bye, jackass.”

“ _Bye_ ,” he said between a chuckle and hung up. Even though the traffic jams always managed to get a little out of your road rage, you’d arrived in a good mood thanks to him. And thanks to your fun weekend with Nyx.

Xavier had been right about that you wanted to forget, and you had succeeded. And maybe he was right about that Ravus grew a little too fast on you, but you no longer felt so sad about his departure even though you kept thinking about him. And about that poem. But no, you were not getting back to that place. So, you shook your head, got out of the car and went directly to your office.

You had a lot of work to do today. Your schedule was full in the morning, in the afternoon you had to plan the procedure that was going to be performed next week to a fisherman who was injured in the leg when falling into a rocky lake for trying to catch a large specimen and then you would have to-

“What’s that?” you halted in your steps as you walked into your office.

“Good morning, doctor,” Fayed greeted you with a content smile. “It arrived a few minutes ago.”

On the wooden table in the corner of the waiting room was a large bouquet of the most beautiful blue flowers you’d ever seen, standing out in the middle of the white walls. Its aroma enveloped the entire room. It was sweet, soft, but lingering. Like taking all over the place, always present no matter where you move. You didn't see a card, but you recognized the perfume, and the flowers, of course. It was that. That's what he smelled like. You always wondered when you were near him, because you've never smelled a scent like that before. But _it was that_. It was the smell of sylleblossoms.

With a silly smile on your face you approached the flowers and observed them, then touched the petals delicately between your fingers as if they were going to break into pieces just by the contact. They were like velvet. Rows and rows of soft and scented velvet in blue.

“Exquisite bouquet,” Ignis spoke behind you and drag you out from the far away travel you were on.

You immediately turned to him and smiled. “Hey, good morning.”

“Good morning,” he said, returning the gesture, and handed you a cup of coffee as he held another. You just loved when he did that, so your smile went from ear to ear. “Lovely sylleblossoms. I think I have no need to ask who sent them,” he smiled mischievously at the bouquet and then at you.

“It could be anyone,” you spoke, holding back a smirk and bringing the cup to your mouth, returning your gaze to the flowers. “There’s no card.”

“Oh, well,” he played along, crossing an arm under his chest and raising the cup on the other. “I could make some inquiries since it’s in the gardens of the Fenestala Manor the only place where they grow.”

“Really, it’s the only place?” you returned your eyes to him in serious question. You did know that sylleblossoms could only be found in Tenebrae, but this fun fact was new to you. 

The little upward curve on his lips seemed to grow the slightest bit. “Indeed. They’re not in any other location.”

And you turned slowly to the huge arrangement, sipping from your coffee. He had gone to the trouble of disturbing someone else to collect the flowers from his own garden, put them together in a beautiful set, and send them from across the ocean to arrive first hour in the morning today. For all the swords of Bahamut.

You couldn't help but laugh at your reasoning, behind your cup of coffee, and then bite your bottom lip as you placed a hand on your hip. “Shit.”

Ignis chuckled at your reaction and then cleared his throat, turning his body to you. “On the other hand, the reason for my visit was to make you an invitation.” Your gaze turned away from the flowers and faced him with interest. “Since we all have time to spare, we’ll go camping this weekend on the outskirts of the city. We would like you to join us.”

That didn't sound bad, but you weren't sure you wanted to share the same space with Gladio, Lord of the Tents, for a whole weekend, and you weren’t sure that he was comfortable with the idea, either, so, you grimaced in doubt. “… I don’t know.”

Like reading your mind, Ignis continued. “Gladio was the first one to suggest that we should invite you,” and he finished his coffee, looking at you above his cup.

“Really?” you asked, drawing your brows together and Ignis arched his in answer. It was true that you didn't want to be on bad terms with him. The revelations of that day had lessened your fury, and even though he'd attended with Crowe that night, you no longer felt the same need to avoid him. Maybe it was time to move on, behave like an adult, and not throw away a friendship that you appreciated anyway. So, biting the inside of your cheek, you convinced yourself. "Okay," you shrugged, "why not?"

Ignis smiled and gave a satisfied nod. "I'll coordinate everything then." Of course. "I'll let you work now."

“Okay,” you said into a small smile. “Thanks for the coffee.”

He smiled back and after nodding at Faye, turned around and left the waiting room. You gave a look at the flowers again and sighed deeply, feeling a wave of emotion, turning then your gaze to Faye, who gave you a knowing smile and, finishing your coffee, you opened the door of your office to find another surprise.

A single sylleblossom on your desk in a beautiful solitary glass vase.

With one foot inside your space, your face turned to look at Faye again, who was already watching you in anticipation.

“The courier arrived with clear instructions to leave it on your desk, apparently,” she spoke, smirking, before you could ask anything. Smiling with a bit embarrassment, you hummed, and entered your office, closing the door behind you.

After throwing the cup of coffee in the trash can and putting on your white coat, you sat at your desk and, arms-crossed, stared at the flower as you rocked from right to left in your swivel chair. What was this? A gesture of thanks or something else? The giant arrangement in the waiting room where everyone could see it was enough to say thank you. Why the solitaire?

And, of course, this deserved a call. Of thankfulness, obviously. So, you took your phone and dialed his number, thinking inopportunely about the poem you discovered while the beeps sounded. On the second, as usual, he answered.

“I found today a huge and embarrassing bouquet of flowers that takes up almost half of my waiting room,” you spoke playful before he could greet you.

" _Unfortunate_ ” he replied, entertained. " _It must look horrid, I can imagine._ " Hell, you were happy just to hear his voice.

You chuckled and shifted in your seat. "Not so much," then regaining an amused seriousness and lowering your voice. These sarcasm-laden conversations had become common between you. "Thank you, they're absolutely beautiful."

A beat of silence took the other end of the line. " _Our medical staff here is impressed with your work,_ " he said after it. His voice had a hidden joy and you couldn't stop staring at the lonely flower on your desk as you heard him.

You hummed, smiling. "Maybe I should meet them when I visit you."

" _They're looking forward for it,_ " and he paused for a second. Gods you were looking forward for it, too, but not precisely with your tenebraen peers.

"Well, I think I see you there then." Wait, weren't you talking about his doctors? Stupid brain. "I mean, all of you."

" _So shall it be_ ," you could see him in your mind with that bare smile on his lips that was so audible in his voice. Dammit if you felt like a teenager.

"Alright," you said after the tiniest chuckle by feeling caught. "Thanks again and... well, I'm going to work." Really? That's it? You suck at this.

" _You have a good day_ ," he replied in the softest voice and you felt like melting in your chair.

"You too," and you hung up before your self-control completely disappeared.

Putting the phone back in your pocket and giving one last look at the flower, with a silly smile on your face, you sighed and got up from your chair to start your day. There was work to be done, and you were going to have to use all your willpower not to daydream.

That was going to be difficult, though. The scent of the sylleblossoms filled the entire place.

And it was his scent.

<>

After a busy morning, filled with half-naked bodies of glaives and the usual particular queries, you went for lunch. Unfortunately, Ignis was unable to accompany you today, but the King's stew of the day made up for his absence.

With a full stomach and head wandering in a fantasy world in your head since morning, you headed to your car to go to the hospital, where the afternoon would be enlivened by the reconstruction of a pair of tendons in the leg of an adventurous photographer who wanted to climb the Ravatogh, in order to take the perfect picture that would be published in a growing magazine, by some journalist request. But It didn’t go well, and now he’d have to climb your stretcher to undergo the surgery.

You started your car and left the Citadel somewhat sleepy from the great banquet you’d given yourself. If you didn’t turn on the radio soon, you ran the risk of having some microsleep and that you weren’t going to allow.

Searching through the radio stations, listening to music that could worsen your current condition and some announcements, you found the one you used to listen to find out the latest news from Eos, but it was time for that stupid gossip show led by the shrill voice of that woman who annoyed you so much. You were reaching out to change the station again, grimacing in distaste, when the subject caught your attention tremendously.

“… _And, of course, we are very happy that Prince Ravus has returned to Tenebrae because now we are going to have the big wedding! -_ sounds of applause and laughter from the announcers _\- and we are very happy for him. We’re sure they’ll be a wonderful couple .._.”

And the world stopped before you.

He was engaged… All this time and neither he nor anyone else had the delicacy to tell you that someone was waiting for him at Tenebrae. To get married.

The traffic light was still red and the hands holding the steering wheel couldn't have been stiffer. The emblem in the center of it began to be blurred by the dam that threatened to overflow from your eyes. The sounds around you disappeared and that woman's voice on the radio seemed to drift further and further away.

How is it possible that at some point you believed that you had a chance with a prince? A damn prince! Tears started streaming down your cheeks when you were startled by the loud sound of the horn of the car behind you. Sniffing and roughly wiping away the tears with your hand, you shot him a killing glare in the rearview mirror and furiously started at the green light again.

Unable to hold back the river of pain and rage that kept pouring out madly, you kept driving until you entered the hospital parking lot. You went in, parked and stayed in there, letting out the last salty drops you had left.

And you cursed him.

Yes, you cursed him. For giving you impossible hopes. For having dared to touch you, to smile at you, to speak to you with sweetness. For that damn book, for the damn poetry. For behaving with you like you never saw him behave with anyone else. For making you believe you were special. You cursed him for everything.

Breathing short, feeling that sharp sting in your chest, you wiped away the last tears and stopped crying with your infallible method. Then, after having a deep breath, took the makeup out of your bag, and tried to cover up the signs of your sadness. The only thing that could worsen everything right now is that someone else would see you like this.

Without quite achieving it but satisfied with being able to hide it a bit, you got out of your car and went to the surgery floor to continue with what was left of the day. You knew that at least that would make you forget everything for a while, and you wouldn't be suffering.

Upon entering the lockers room, you found Xavier who turned to you as soon as you opened the door. What a face you would have that he didn't smile like he used to when you arrived.

“What happened?” he asked, concerned.

You swallowed, but it wasn't enough to hold back the tears that came back stronger than before at his question.

“He’s engaged,” your voice broke.

Xavier stared at you for just a second, shocked, and then stormed across the room towards your side. “Oh, shit,” he said as he hugged you tightly against him. Sinking your face into the hollow of his neck, you cried so intensely that your shoulders shook with each sob. Everything came out. Everything. And you couldn't stop even though you tried.

The sounds fell silent around you again. All you heard was your heart shattering into pieces.

<>

“You sure you carry everything?” Prompto asked, in the middle of your living room, looking here and there for anything that might be left behind for your camping trip.

“Yeah, I think so,” you answered, placing your hands in your hips and giving a last look around, making a mental list of what you’d already packed. “Let’s go.”

“Yep, okay!” he made a little jump and grabbed your bag, putting it over his shoulder. You smiled at seeing him excited like a child for the little journey, and that cheered you up. A weekend away from everything and everyone, with good friends, Gladio included, without having to worry about anything. At all. You knew your cell phone would be dead there and you really didn't care. You’d even deleted Ravus' message. All seem like a lie to you now.

After checking the lock on your apartment, you walked down the stairs with Prompto to meet Ignis, Gladio and Noctis, who were already waiting for you in the car in front of your building.

That car. Oh, you always loved it and now you we’re finally going to have a ride. You loved the color, the long shape, elegance everywhere. The roar of the engine, gods. There was no way you were going to get in your car and miss out on this, even if you had to squeeze yourself in the back.

At seeing you, Ignis got out of it and after greeting, he helped you put your bag in the trunk. Noctis raised his brows and smiled from the back seat, and as you looked off the sidewalk, you saw Gladio arriving with a pair of plastic bags from the market that was in the corner of your block. He paused just for a fraction of second and then gave you a hesitating smile, and you, without even realizing it, returned it in a broader reflection. You just were happy to see him. As simple as that.

With your bag in the back, Ignis headed for the driver's seat as you realized Prompto was already in the passenger’s one. Which only left you a single option. Indeed, you would have to squeeze yourself, nothing more and nothing less than between Noctis and Gladio. And while he arranged the bags in the trunk, you got in the car.

"Check this out," Noctis said, turning the screen of his phone so you could see the silly photo of a chocobo on the head of a Kenny Crow. It made you laugh when you saw it because it seemed that the little animal was going to eat the figure. "I hope it's head is gone. When we stop by today, I'll have Prompto take a picture of it," he finished as he turned his phone back to him.

"Why don't you take the picture?" Prompto turned in his seat with a small frown as Gladio got into the car and, nervously, sat next to you trying somehow not to touch your arm while doing it. Poor man. You tried to squeeze against Noctis a little more to give him space, but with this behemoth at your side, it was an impossible task.

"Because you're the photographer and I'm the prince," Noctis picked on him. Prompto pouted and you laughed, this was so cheering you up. On the other hand, Ignis sighed and start the engine while Gladio couldn't be more uncomfortable next to you.

"Put your arm up here," you said to him, pointing at the back of the seat behind your head. He looked at you shyly, like maybe you've never seen him before, then he smiled softly and raised his arm over your head, tucking it behind you.

The aroma of his deodorant was captivating, woody, and intense. He always smelled good, even when training and a long day didn’t allow him to be very aware of himself. It was manly and was inevitable sometimes to get away from it. You always loved that and seek to be close to him to get drunk with his scent.

So, you allowed yourself this little treat and lay down, resting your head lightly on his arm.

“Everything in order?” Ignis asked, before hitting the road.

“Yep,” “alright,” you all answered from your seats, and the journey began.

Without the roof of the car, the wind played with your hair as you moved further towards the outskirts of the city. Prompto chose the radio station, while Noctis teased him incessantly because of his musical taste. A weird mix of indie rock, classic ballads and Lady Gaga, singing at the top of his lungs. Ignis was driving concentratedly as he gave you a look from time to time through the rearview mirror, making a more adult conversation, and Gladio at first was stiffer than a stone, but he went more relaxed as the road advanced and you leaned more on him. Unintentionally, of course. It was a matter of comfort and short space.

Finally, you arrived at the designated place to spend the rest of the weekend. A decent amount of nature behind the protective wall, a lake, a small forest, and flat terrain to set up camp. Everyone quickly got out of the car, stretching as soon as you touched the ground and while the men took the bags and necessary stuff from the trunk, you took advantage of their distraction to verify what you were looking after.

No signal. At all.

Simple and convenient vanishing from the face of Eos, entirely. That was just what you’d come for. So, without giving it more importance, you put your cell phone in your bag as went to help the others.

Gladio was the first to take his gear, unsurprisingly, and started setting up the tent. Ignis put his small stove and implements in order with the help of Prompto, while Noctis took one of the camping chairs and simply sat down.

“No service,” he murmured, stretching his arm with phone in hand in a shameful attempt to get signal. Quickly giving up, he sighed, and just crossed his arms, looking at the others.

Seeing that each one had his trade, apparently Noctis included, you took your tent out of the car and headed to the place where you were going to place it.

“Lemme do that,” Gladio said when you knelt to down to spread it out.

“You’re not gonna sleep with us?” Prompto seemed surprised that you wanted your personal space, turning his head while he was bent over taking out some stuff from the bags. “It can be very cold at night.”

Ignis glared at him. “I'm sure she would be uncomfortable sleeping with the four of us,” and gave you a reassuring smile that you returned. Well, it really wasn't that you were going to feel uncomfortable in the same space with these four beauties.

“Actually, I thought it was the four of you that would be uncomfortable sleeping with me,” you smiled and winked at him.

Prompto grunted and came to take your tent in his hands. “Oh, come on! As if I never slept with you.”

Gladio chuckled behind you while the blonde put your tent back in the trunk. “I agree.” You glared at him, but he didn’t notice, he just laughed like the idiot he was and continued his task.

Placing your hands on your hips, you sighed resignedly -sure, you did put up resistance-. “Ok,” and went to take the other sleeping bags to put them inside the tent that Gladio skillfully was already finishing.

Noctis kept staring at the space from his chair, caught off guard as Prompto snapped a photo of him from the side. When the shutter sounded, he turned to look at him and made a pose with his fingers forming a V and a funny grimace on his face. You smiled at the scene and continued on your way to the tent, already raised, with the sleeping bags.

Entering the wide space, you found Gladio adjusting some edges here and there. “Um, where do I put these?”

“I help you,” he said turning to you, walking crouched to grab a couple from your hands to place them on the ground. “You can put that one over there and the other here,” pointing at the spots with his fingers. You nodded and began to unroll the fluffy belongings. Quietly, each one's first bag was put into place. The tent was wide inside, but you surely were going to be a bit squeezed there, and maybe they would be a little uncomfortable with you. Too late, anyway.

In the privacy of the interior of the tent, when you took the other bag, felt Gladio's gaze on you. “I know you don't wanna hear any more apologies, but I'm sorry I came that night with Crowe.” His lips were curved down and there was not a single frown on his forehead. You just looked at him as you slowly unrolled the bag, eyes studying the covered floor right after. “I gotta admit I felt bad when you left with Nyx.”

Right. That. You knew it had to come up at some point and the truth was that you’d slept with Nyx once more that same week. You’d come to an unspoken agreement, just sex. It wasn't exactly what you had in mind, but you were certainly satisfied with the conditions after all that had happened with Gladio and the recent finding with Ravus. You were tired of the drama that brought romance so many times and maybe love wasn't your thing, but that's not why you were going to stop having a good time.

“Yeah, well,” you said in the middle of a sigh, stopping on your chore and resting more your weight on your calves while still kneeling. “We have separate ways now, so don’t apologize,” meeting his eyes at the last words. He lowered his gaze and gave a slow nod, humming.

“I don’t want this to be awkward,” he took seat on the ground, bending his knees and resting his forearms on them, holding one of the bags still uncoiled between both hands. “Would it be bad to try to be friends?”

You looked at him again to find a dubious expression. It was well known that this hardly ever worked, but you agreed with him and didn't want to spend the rest of the weekend or future meetings avoiding him as you had a few days ago. And you didn't want to lose the friend, any of them, so it made sense. “Sure,” giving him small smile and a shy nod.

He returned the gesture and got down on his knees again, relieved somehow, as if a weight had been lifted from him. “Alright, let’s get this done.” And you followed him. Everything set in their place and the two of you left the tent to find the five chairs in place, Ignis' small makeshift kitchen and the two younger ones pirouetting and posing for Prompto’s photos.

“Come here!” the blonde said motioning for you to get closer to them and participate in their session. A silly grimace of yours between the two friends hugging you on either side and the first photo of the camp was taken. Gladio was looking at you, smiling next to Ignis, until Prompto invited them to join and, agreeing, the two eldest of the group took position behind you three and the weekend of camp was immortalized.

“Ok, let’s fish!” Noctis perked up and Prompto clapped enthusiastic.

“You like fishing?” you asked incredulous. It was a hobby of the prince of which you had no knowledge. You've never really seen him with anything other than his cell phone and King's Knight.

“It's the only thing he's good at,” Gladio teased passing by your side and Noctis glared at him, accompanied by a grunt.

The exchange made you laugh, and you followed the others who took the chairs while Noctis was already heading towards the lake. It was a beautiful place. The landscape only interrupted by the wall that stood to protect from the threats of the world. The blue and crystalline water reflected the sunny sky and the wind combed the surface, simulating small waves that hit the pier and the rocks that protruded around it.

Arriving at the edge of the dock, in a move you’d never seen before, Noctis materialized his fishing pole out of nowhere. You widened your eyes until they almost burst from your face and turned to look at the others who were watching you with amusement.

“Privileges of the Royal Family,” Ignis quickly cleared up with a slight smile on his face and you blinked in awe, returning your gaze to the prince who was already putting the lure in place.

“Aw, that one looks like a cactuar,” you said getting close to examine it and Noctis smiled.

“Yeah, this is one of my best,” he finished tying it up. “Have you ever gone fishing?”

“Nop. I'm a total newbie on this.”

“Well, come here. I’ll show you,” he motioned for you to get closer and you excitedly went to his side. This was something you always wanted to do. “Grab the rod like this and you're going to throw it doing this movement,” doing the mimic and you followed him to learn how to do it. When he seemed satisfied, he indicated where to aim and, following the steps, the line fell right in the center of the lake when you launched it. Yeah, you were born for this.

“Okay, now,” disregarding the camp chair, he sat on the edge of the dock and you followed, careful not to let go of the rod. “We only have to wait.”

“Okay,” you nodded, and let yourself be trapped by the peace of the place. The others sat behind, Ignis brought some coffee in a thermos, Gladio grabbed his book, and Prompto sat on the dockboards behind Noctis, softly humming a funny song. The quiet was only interrupted when Noctis explained what you should do when you felt that something was pulling the line and from there, he began to tell you all the mysteries of fishing.

He really liked this. It was the most you’d heard him speak and you were trying to follow him closely. His smile was gentle, and he stared at the lake as if it were an old friend, you could say that he felt at peace here. And it was understandable. The pressures of a prince's life must be too much from time to time ... and you couldn't help but think of Ravus. The engagement had come as a truly unpleasant surprise to you, but if you thought about it, it wasn't that shocking. He would be king one day and obviously he’d need a suitable wife, someone of equal noble birth, who could support and help him fulfill the challenging tasks that the crown demanded. And being honest, you weren't sure you could fill such shoes. You knew what royalty entailed after having been working with it for so long and it wasn't something you were dying to belong to. Maybe it was better that way.

One of Gladio's sneeze make you return your attention to Noctis's teachings, putting aside the thoughts you came to evade. The different kinds of lures, the thickness of the line, the length of the fishing rod and-

“Whoa!” Something pulled the line so hard that it pushed you slightly forward and you almost let go of the line. Everyone quickly got up from where they were sitting and ran to stand behind you.

“Goodness,” Ignis exclaimed when noticing the size of the catch.

“Oh, we got a big one!” Gladio said excited right behind you and Prompto opened his way to be by your side.

“Okay! Pull the line to where the fish pulls,” you followed Noctis's instructions carefully as you swayed on the dock to pull the line and not fall. “Roll it up!” In quick flicks of the wrist you wound the line until Noctis motioned for you to stop, pulling side to side with the fish again.

“Come on, you can do it! Stay focus now,” Gladio perked you up and you rolled the line again. Closer and closer, the poor animal struggled not to get caught while you fought against his strength. He was moving, you were following him, patiently waiting for the moment to wind until the line was too tight to continue. The battle was intense, and your arms began to ache, until, finally, it was close enough to the dock and Gladio was the first one to jump into the water. “Just leave it to me!”

“Wow! Look what I caught!” your high-pitched voice, full of excitement, made everybody laugh. Prompto shoved the unsuspecting Ignis into the water at the edge of the dock and Noctis didn't wait to do the same to him, laughing out loud immediately after.

“Oh, what the hell is this thing,” Noctis marveled at the size of the huge animal.

“Massive!” Prompto agreed and taking you by surprise, pulled you overboard with them. Laughter erupted from everyone's mouths and when you noticed, Noctis was also in the water. All dragging the slippery booty to shore to catch the hunt.

“Alright, picture time!” The blond man called and brought his camera as you left the huge beast in the sand and settled around to capture the memory. After adjusting his tripod and setting the timer, one click was enough to make your first heroic fishing a part of history.

Ignis brought his utensils and deftly cut the biggest fillets you’d ever have seen after peeling and gutting the dejected fish. Your capture served to feed you all during the two days and you couldn’t feel more useful on this trip in the middle of nature.

The rest of the day passed between cooking the delicious pieces by Ignis, with some of your help while everyone dried their clothes; have some coffee, laugh and at night sit around the campfire having a couple of beers and telling old stories about their other camps and your old days at medical school, telling them anecdotes of your first practices.

The night fell completely, and everyone seemed to be tired, so Gladio put out the fire while you and Ignis organized the kitchen area and the two young men collected the waste around. One by one, they were then entering the tent until only you and Gladio remained in front of the extinct flame. He rose from the ground with sooty hands that were washed in a bucket of water prepared for that purpose while you took off your still wet jacket in the lower half and left it hanging from a bush.

“Nice day, huh?” he said, wiping his hands with a small towel as he walked towards you.

“Yeah,” you smiled in agreement. It really had been.

In the middle of the night his eyes shone like those of a feline and you looked at him smiling. His steps grew closer until in front of you, his massive figure threatened to engulf you once again. Strong, powerful, this man drew you like the sun to the planets and although you wanted to escape gravity, your treacherous feet failed and didn’t obey the commands that your brain screamed. And he knew it. So, getting closer, with a soft smile on his lips, he cupped your cheek with his large hand and found you in a kiss that seemed to ignite the campfire again.

“No,” you broke it some seconds later, breathing heavily, resting your hands on his strong chest. He lowered his head and after slightly squeezing your hands putting his over them, he let you go.

You gave him a long look as you watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. His lips parted in an attempt to tell you something, but nothing came out of them, so you turned on your heels and headed for the tent. You went inside to see that everyone had already chosen their places, which only left two sleeping bags next to each other. Giving a sigh as you closed your eyes, you got into the one that was next to Prompto, settling with your face towards him, who was turning his back on you.

After a while you heard Gladio enter the tent and lie down next to you, sighing loudly and surely closing his eyes right after. You closed yours and tiredness, more than sleep, ended up leading you to unconsciousness.

One last look at your memories and silver strands were lost among a thousand faces.

<>

In the middle of the night you woke up. Half asleep, listened to the silence of the night without opening your eyes and remembered where you were. There were four of them, in the same tent with you. Prompto breathed something shaky next to you, perhaps having a nightmare, you didn’t hear sound coming from the other two and behind you, a deep and sonorous breath reminded you of who he was. A warm weight was around your waist. The heat he emanated lulled you again and without moving an inch to prevent you from losing it, you smiled fleetingly and went back to sleep again.

<>

The next morning, a hairy face was the first image of the day. His amber eyes half-opened on a par with yours and an unsuspecting smile crossed his face. That lukewarm weight still around your waist tensed with the awakening and you stretched under it trying to scare the dream that you had left.

“Sorry,” he suddenly apologized at the realization and quickly withdrew his arm. You chuckled tenderly and sat still wrapped like a cocoon in your sleeping bag.

“Bright and shine, everyone!” Ignis greeted entering the tent again. Prompto rubbed his eyes while Noctis seemed to be still in midnight.

You greeted him and got up leaving the tent. The cool wind pleasantly hit your face and the smell of trees and bushes in the morning filled every inch of your lungs with a big inhalation. The first cup of coffee was offered to you with a smile from Ignis and the others came out of the tent to join you on the sunny morning.

After the rustic and delicious breakfast still based on the big fish of the previous day, you all went for a hike in the surroundings. Toads of various colors leaped among the rocks of the nearby swamp and a couple of small herds of anaks were observed in the distance. It wasn’t a sight that you could marvel at every day, so you took every mental image you could, every flower, every species, every hand that Gladio offered you to go down a hill or up a rock.

But it was time to go back, so returning to camp you enjoyed another cup of coffee and good talk in the middle of the forest overlooking the lake, and then started to collect everything to go home. The tent was packed, the chairs folded, Ignis’ items sorted and the dry clothes from the day before put back on. Everything was ready inside the trunk of the fine car and taking one last photo with the lake in the background, everyone got in and made your way back to the big city.

This time Gladio had no trouble tucking his arm behind your head again and pulling out his book, he rested his head on yours as he moved along the lines of his newly acquired novel. You didn’t resist, and you certainly were more comfortable like that.

Advancing on the highway, numb in the afternoon sun, you were startled by the sound of your cell phone in your pocket. So, the signal had returned. Making you leave your comfortable nest, you took it out of your pocket to find yourself on the screen with the name that you had avoided all week. Gladio sighed next to you and as he leaned toward the car door, you answered the incoming call.

“Ravus, hi,” you were surprised that you spoke without a smidge of emotion.

And on the other end of the line he seemed to notice it because there was a short silence before his greeting. “ _Is it a bad time?_ ”

“No,” you leaned in the back of the seat, crossing your other arm under your chest, “not at all. Is something wrong?”

“ _Absolutely not. I was informed that you’ll use a hotel during your stay in Tenebrae._ ”

“Oh, yes. Is there some problem with that?” Your voice was sharp and dry, and the tone seemed to be irritating him, but you didn't care.

“ _Unacceptable,_ ” he said decided, “ _You’re staying at the manor._ ”

That was so not going to happen. “It’s not necessary, is not far away from there,” hardening you voice.

“ _It has been decided,_ ” now you noticed the exasperated tone in his voice. “ _I’m aware that your reservation has already been canceled._ ”

“What?” now you were exasperated and leaned forward in the seat, frowning. “I wish I’d been consulted first.”

“ _There’s nothing to discuss. It’s arranged._ ” His voice was definitive, and you knew you wouldn’t win this one. So, you sighed heavily and glared at space.

“Thank you for your trouble. I’ll see you in a week,” and after a second of silence, you hung up.

Frowning at the upholstery of the car you noticed that the others had fallen silent. You leaned back on the seat again, but Gladio's arm was gone and he was looking absentmindedly out the window. Then lifting your gaze, you met Ignis' in the rearview mirror and Noctis was the one who dared to speak.

“What did the grumpy prince want?”

Crossing your arms after putting your phone back in your pocket, you huffed. “They want me to stay at the manor and cancelled my hotel reservation without letting me know first.”

“Typical,” he replied, giving a short laugh.

“Staying at the manor is an honor only reserved for the Royal Family and a selected number of individuals,” Ignis intervened, obviously trying to appease your anger. You just hummed and stayed arms-crossed, staring at the window opposite to Gladio’s.

The rest of the trip passed in silence until you reached your building. Ignis got out of the car, helping you put your bag down while Gladio also got out to give you way, offering his hand as you got out of the car. You gave him a short and somewhat sad smile, making little eye contact for the short time your hand was in his. Ignis handed your bag to you and, saying goodbye to everyone, you entered the building and went straight to your apartment.

The sunset was about to fall, and the reddish rays were already beginning to enter through the window of your living room. Leaving your keys on the counter and the bag in one of the armchairs, you sat on the couch and laid your head on the back. Some shadows were formed on the ceiling by the outside light and your mind played with the shapes and colors, trying to keep itself busy so as not to think. But not thinking was impossible for you.

You were tired, just tired. Of everything.

This way your days would pass from now on every time you got home. Alone, as you’d always felt better. No calls, no messages, no reports, no nothing. Three men in your life, but no real love.

One trip to Tenebrae and that would be it.

The poetry book was not on your table anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for still being here! This continues, for sure!
> 
> Sorry for so much drama, I can't contain myself ...


	8. In a instant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well... Welcome to the self-indulgence feast Volume. 1

“Why don't you just say no and book again at another hotel?” Prompto asked half-bite as you three had lunch in the dining room.

You swallowed and washed your bite with a sip of water. “Because that would be impolite with the queen and with Luna,” considering that the latter had already called you excited because you were going to spend three days at the manor. The amount of plans she seemed to have for you far exceeded the time you pretended to be at Tenebrae. “And I don't mean to make Lucis look bad, you know how those things are.”

“Indeed, that would be frowned upon considering that the queen herself must have given the go-ahead for your stay,” Ignis intervened after cleaning his mouth with the cloth napkin. Then resting against the back of the chair he looked at you, pursing slightly his lips into a smile. “I’m afraid you have no choice.”

“Yeah,” you crossed your arms and gazed at him with half a smirk. “I’m afraid you’re always afraid that everything that happens to me is inevitable, don’t you?”

Both men laughed at your sides and you made a small chuckle in response. Fools. But the truth was that although you were laughing now, in a couple of days you would be on your way to Tenebrae in the airship that was arranged exclusively for you. Excessive but so was royalty. And what you disliked the most was not in itself being in the presence of Ravus but to know that you would have to meet her. If the engagement was already official, she was going to be at the manor for sure.

And you didn’t know if you could bear that.

To see the gestures of affection, the caresses, the whispers ... the kisses. Everything you wanted to do but in the skin of another woman. Absolute torture.

“Hey, you ok?” the blond snapped you out of your thoughts. The three of you had already finished your lunch and were ready to go.

“Yeah, sorry,” you said, leaning forward on your seat to grab the glass in front of you. The young man's blue eyes rested on you for a second before turning to Ignis who was already getting up from the table. “You're leaving?”

“Yes, we have an important meeting with the council in 15 minutes. I must prepare,” Ignis answered, smoothing the front of his shirt. Then, saying goodbye to both, he turned around and left. In the last few days, you’d understood why they had planned the camp. You'd barely had time to talk to them, especially Ignis who hadn’t stopped being in one meeting after another since that following Monday. Today, miraculously, he’d been able to have lunch, but it was clear that something quite big was happening at the Citadel.

"Do you know what's going on?" you turned to ask Prompto after watching Ignis leave. His lips contorted into a compulsive grimace as his eyes went to the bracelet in his wrist he was squeezing. The same one that hid his tattoo and then you understood his unspoken concern. "It has something to do with Niflheim...," you murmured as you turned your gaze in another direction.

The blonde sighed and released his wrist. "I think so...," he finally spoke. "I overheard something that Ignis was saying to Gladio the other day, but I'm not sure."

Turning to look at him again, you studied his features for a moment. His posture was hunched, and the line of his lips curled down heavily. His eyes fixed on the black and white tablecloth but lost in thoughts that you were not lucky enough to know, although you could guess. "Prom," finally daring to drag him out from his musings, "how did you find out about your tattoos?"

A question that was pending in you since the day you see him at your office. His gaze went shyly to you although his eyes didn't meet yours completely, just to return to the two-colored fabric again. "The MT's they captured the last time ... I saw them. They had one just like it."

You paused to process what that might have meant to him as he clenched his fists on the table. "You're not like them," your voice was soft but determined. It was a statement. Your friend was not like those things.

Responding to your tone he let out a small smile that eased your worry a little bit. "I know," and he let out a small sigh in agreement.

But nothing to do with Nifleheim was good. Whatever was going on between Lucis and the Empire you hoped it didn't mean a bloodbath again. Those were definitely not good memories. So, sighing this time yourself, you got up from the chair. “Do you have something to do later?”

“Um, nope. I’m free, I guess,” blue eyes met you with renewed curiosity.

“Would you help me pack?” It wasn't that you needed help, but mutual company did both of you good. "And I think I need help with that mission I told you the other day," he loved blowing aircrafts, too.

“Sure!” he answered, smiling. “I’ll see you in your house.”

“Okay,” you smiled back. For a second you just stared at him with his everlasting smile and bright eyes that seemed to light up every freckle on his face. This young man had never ceased to amaze you and you were never going to stop reminding him how special he was from now on. “See you there then, my friend,” you said goodbye, messing up with his hair. He chuckled as he whined, letting you go with a bright smile.

Gods if you needed this. The warm of a good friend to wash away your inner turmoil.

A few more hours and you would be _facing your heart_.

<>

_Somewhere or other there must surely be  
The face not seen, the voice not heard,  
The heart that not yet—never yet—ah me!  
Made answer to my word._

_Somewhere or other, may be near or far;  
Past land and sea, clean out of sight;  
Beyond the wandering moon, beyond the star  
That tracks her night by night._

_Somewhere or other, may be far or near;  
With just a wall, a hedge, between;  
With just the last leaves of the dying year  
Fallen on a turf grown green._

You sighed.

The ride took a couple of hours and you brought the poetry book with you to return it to him. It wasn't necessary to have it with you anymore. _You didn’t want_ to have it with you anymore. It was a torment that you certainly didn’t want to endure every night you came home, that reminded you of what could have been. So, you read the poem he left you one last time and closed the book on your lap, looking out the window where you could already see the lush vegetation that covered the mountains of Tenebrae.

The airship started to land, and after you tightened your belt, you put the book back in your bag. You were traveling light. It will only be a three days stay, or maybe less, depending on how things turned out. So, you settled in and took a deep breath because if there was one thing you hated more than flying, it was landing.

But the suffering and slight hyperventilation were worth it when you got off the airship. The place was beautiful, more wonderful than any you’d ever been to before. The waterfalls falling from mountains that seemed to float in the air was something that wasn’t compared to anything, and suddenly all your worries were gone. Maybe you couldn’t be with Ravus, but surely you were going to delight yourself touring this place as much as you could.

“Welcome!” a familiar, sweet and animated voice was the first to greet you.

You smiled at the sight of two arms extended towards you, reaching for your hands. “Hello, Luna,” you greeted her. “It’s good to see you again,” and it was true. Her joy was always infectious. Those blue eyes smiling as well before meeting you in a hug.

“I’m so glad you have finally come,” she said, hooking you by the elbow and almost pulling you with her. “We are all glad, isn’t that right, brother?” she spoke to the man behind her, walking slowly in your direction.

Oh, gods.

Ravus stopped in his steps right in front of you. An almost imperceptible smile on his face as he gave you a small nod. “Indeed,” answering softly to his sister but without taking his eyes off you. A serious and composed façade, bright mismatched eyes that almost make you disarm. For a moment you could forget his engagement and focused solely on him, only to low your gaze right after. “Please help her with her bag,” his voice came out flat and one of the men that were with them quickly took the belonging from your hands, heading to the car that was waiting for you. 

Luna continued to pull you with her as she led you there, talking excitedly about everything she had planned to show you, her words distracting you from the surroundings where Ravus was walking just some steps away.

"Mother is waiting for you," she said when you reached the car and he passed you by to open the door for you. Giving him the tiniest of smiles you could produce, you got in and Luna followed, sitting right next to your side. Since she didn't leave room for more people, you thought you would go alone, but the car had facing seats. So, your relief disappeared when Ravus also got in and sat across from you, placing himself in the middle of you and his sister.

His gaze was serious on you, but without malicious intent. It was expectant and somewhat sad. So, turning your face slowly towards the window, with a hard expression, you avoided that look and the car started, marveling then in the sight before you.

The wonderful arrangements of hanging branches and beautiful flowers were located on both sides of the road, making a path that seemed to lead to a fairy tale. A worthy entrance to a castle. The scent of the trees and flowers combined calmed your nerves after the trip and because of the current situation, softening the knot in your stomach and the burning sensation of Ravus' gaze that you deliberately averted.

“Did you have a pleasant trip?” Luna leaned forward just a little, dragging you out of your thoughts with big blue eyes searching for your attention, her hands placed on her lap.

“Yes, I did,” you nodded with a small smile and raised a brow. “I don’t love to fly but it was better than I thought.”

She let out a soft laugh and leaned back on the seat again, turning her head to you. “Well, I hope you get used to it, because this cannot be the last time you visit us,” and returned her eyes to the window with a satisfied smile on her face.

That caught you off guard. This woman. Out of the corner of your eye you could see how Ravus turned his face slightly towards her and if you had turned to see him, you knew you would have laughed, but you just kept silent as the imposing manor appeared before you through the window.

What a place, nothing compared to the photographs on the internet. The damage that Niflheim had caused had already been almost completely repaired and the majesty of its construction transported you to another world with the white of its contours contrasting with the intense green of its gardens. And that smell. That familiar smell filled your lungs when Aranea opened the car door from outside.

The first to get out of it, as expected, was Ravus, who extended a hand to help Luna. You followed her, sliding down the chair as she got off, intending to get down before getting help. But above all else, Ravus was a gentleman and before you could escape, his hand was already waiting to help you get out of the car. Making brief eye contact and with a slight frown, you put your hand in his, which held you gently but firmly so that you could lean on with confidence. As you were already standing outside the vehicle, your eyes met his, which hadn't stopped in their pursuit except for a few moments since you saw him again. What a beautiful sight, unattainable though.

"Good to see you again, doc," Aranea smirked behind him as you quickly withdrew your hand from his, feeling again the electricity at the lost of the contact.

"Hey, Aranea," you returned the smile with a nod, passing him by to greet her, when the towering presence of another woman behind her caught completely your attention.

Blonde, almost as tall as you and with delicate but strong features, Queen Sylva was looking at you with a small smile on her face marked with deep blue eyes. You couldn't help but swallow and shrink just a little bit in yourself before her figure, until her gentle voice called your name preceded by your title. "Welcome to Tenebrae," she continued walking slowly towards you, dignified but not pretentious. Delicate hands reached out slightly towards you, curling around yours that were already cold for the temperature around. Her crystal crown released small glints in the daylight and the lapels of her cape flapped in the wind. "And welcome to our home."

The tone of sincerity in her words accompanied by that kind smile made the hairs on your back stand up. If only the circumstances were different, you would be happy to hear that. "Thank you, Your Majesty," you bowed your head and gave her the same infectious expression. "I'm pleased to be here." Yeah, almost, if it weren't because you felt Ravus's gaze on you, surely remembering your last conversation on the phone that gave you away.

"Please," the Queen smiled and motioned for you to follow and you did it, other steps sounding behind you when a smaller arm settled on yours. Turning your eyes, you saw Luna who was looking at you with those same blues - now you knew where she got them from - while the queen continued talking to you. "I'm very pleased to finally meet you. I have no words to thank you for your care with my dear son." Her steps were serene and her words soft.

Sure. You took care of her son with the utmost dedication, and gods knew you would continue doing it if only you had the chance. "It was just my job, Your Majesty," you replied, lowering a little your head and directing your gaze to the stairs that you were starting to climb. The words came out bitter without intention and were more a reminder to yourself. Just your job and nothing more.

Luna giggled beside you. "She always says that, mother," and squeezed your arm just the slightest. That made you turn towards her and smile.

The queen made a soft chuckle and continued going up the stairs beside you. “I’m aware that you take your job with the utmost seriousness, but that does not make it less deserving of gratitude,” she spoke with that small smile on her face and side-eyed you which made you blush.

You smiled shyly and looked at the great entrance of the manor. “Thank you.”

“Let me show you your room,” Luna spoke excited by your side, opening those big blue eyes.

“Luna, let her rest,” the queen addressed her with gentle firmness. The young blonde girl pouted, and her mother smiled, shaking her head.

“There's no problem, Your Majesty,” you interceded, amused by the exchange and the queen stopped at the entrance to give you and Luna a small nod in approval. The rest of the people accompanying you also stopped there, Aranea and Ravus included, and Luna pulled you by the arm towards the spiral stairs.

“We will see you at dinner, mother,” she said playfully while you were being pulled by small but incredibly strong hands. The man with your suitcase had already gone ahead and you gave one last glance at Ravus who, helplessly, watched his sister take you away from him. You didn't know whether to thank her or stop her, but you went with her anyway.

And you marveled at sight. The interior of the manor was amazing. It was simple, but every detail in light shades of green and blue, combined with the white and gold of the walls, made it incredibly elegant and with understated luxury. Of course, the dozens of small flower arrangements with sylleblossoms filled the air with their unmistakable scent and the beautiful windows adorned with symmetrical golden lines revealed the wonderful landscape that surrounded the castle. Who would want to leave this place? It was surreal, as if time here had stopped and you were engulfed in a fantasy.

After slowly climbing the stairs on Luna's arm and down the beautiful corridor, you arrived at what was to be your room for the next two nights. The giant bed adorned with delicate white veils, windows all around and the beautiful cupola in the center of the ceiling made you feel like a princess. And the mere thought made you shiver.

“Do you like it?” Luna asked behind you, then passing you by to enter.

How could you not like it? “Of course, it’s beautiful,” you answered with soft voice, entering behind her and admiring all the little details that were around.

“I was wondering…,” she stopped by one of the windows as you went to test the bed – of course – making a little pause on her words as if selecting what to say next, without taking her eyes off the view with a hand placed on the glass. “Is there a possibility that you will stay a few more days?”

You were already lying down how long you were in bed, but you sat down at her question, considering her for a moment before answering. “I’m afraid I have to go back to work but… why are you asking me this?”

She sighed and came to sit with you on the bed, looking at the tiles on the floor, resting her hands on the edge of the mattress. “It’s my brother. He has been… unwell since we got back here.”

“Unwell?” you settled in to look at her more directly, frowning a little. “Has he been in pain?”

“No,” she shook her head, pursing her lips and taking a moment to think. “I mean… he has not been in physical pain,” and turned her eyes slowly to you.

“Oh,” your brows raised in realization and you averted her gaze just for a second, but it didn’t make sense. “But… Hasn't his fiancée been with him?” You asked shyly, the topic would have to come out sooner or later.

She seemed to bite the inside of his cheek. "That... No. She has not come."

"She hasn't come to visit him in these fifteen days?" You asked, incredulous.

"She is in a journey with her family, and besides, she is not...," Luna sighed and traced an idle pattern with her fingertip on the thick, white bedspread. "It is complicated."

That just left you with more questions. How is it that being about to get married she had not come since he returned from such a procedure after almost two months without seeing him. Now that the doubts assailed you and you already knew the truth, it also seemed incredible to you that she had never gone to Insomnia to be with him. That would have saved you a lot of things, to be honest. But whatever this relationship was, none of this was any of your business anyway.

"Well," you started after sighing, acquiring a tone somehow serious but soft, because you didn't want more gossip even if you died to know everything about him. "I'm sure she has her reasons and they will have time to talk about it. But for now, I'm sorry, I can't stay any longer."

Luna smiled tenderly at you and you managed to feel some guilt for not being able to give in to her request. "I know," she giggled softly, "but I had to try nonetheless."

A small laugh escaped you at her mischief even though you knew she had meant it. You wanted to ask her so many things, but you bit your tongue to hide the discomfort that all this was causing you.

"I'll tell my brother to be ready," she said, getting up suddenly. You really weren't planning on checking him out so soon, but Luna left the room waving one hand and smiling before you could say anything. You chuckled at her sudden departure, shaking your head. This girl really amused you.

But the truth was that as much as you liked her company, as much as you were in the most charming place in Eos and as much as you tried to deny it, these three days were not going to be easy to bear.

Not with his presence so close to you.

<>

"Please, follow me," the old woman motioned for you with a kind smile. Her voice was smooth and calm, like the one of a grandmother’s. "Lord Ravus is waiting for you."

You retired from the large window in which you'd entertained yourself watching the clouds float between the mountains. It was as unreal as a videogame and yet there it was, a fantasy land in the middle of a world at war. You were thankful that Niflheim failed to fulfill its mission to destroy it.

"Thank you... Excuse me, what's your name?" you asked, starting to follow the steps of the woman through the beautifully lit corridors of the manor.

She hummed and smiled, turning just the slightest to you as she walked. "My name is Maria. I'm pleased to meet you."

Saying your name, you returned the kind gesture and continued to follow her as she gave you a tender smile and a nod. You could tell that she had spent her entire life in this place, the other servants treated her with great respect, and she seemed to know every detail and corner. You loved from the very first moment her simplicity and her kind treatment to others. It wasn't just because of her work, but because she really just seemed to be like that. You made a mental note to ask Luna about her later.

"Here we are," she stopped in front of a large door and your heart shrunk inside your chest. After a gentle knock, she opened and without saying a word, she just nodded at the interior of the room that you couldn’t see, waving her hand for you then to go in.

Taking a deep breath after giving her a grateful smile, you walked through the door and closing it behind you, he was there. By the window, like the first time you saw him, but this time his back was not on you. This time he was looking, waiting for your presence. But today you were more afraid than that day.

“Good evening,” you were the first to break the silence, stepping into the room.

With hands on his back, his eyes looked for a second at the floor and then settled on you again. “I am truly pleased that you are here,” he replied with soft voice and a small bow of his head. Your gaze went now to the floor. If the engagement didn’t exist or you hadn’t found out about it, surely at this moment, in the solitude of this room, you would have run towards him.

“How have you felt about your arm?” you asked after a sigh, determined to keep this as a professional visit.

A tiny frown showed up on his face in the couples of beats he went silent. “I’ve felt rather well.”

The tension in the room could be cut with a blade. Between the short sentences and his effort to keep his eyes on you while you strove otherwise, there was only room for awkward silences. Better to get this over with quickly.

“I’m glad. Please sit here so I can take a look at it,” you indicated him as you went to take a chair to put right in front of where he was going to sit.

After seemingly hesitating for a moment, he agreed and went to the place. Knowing the procedure, he began to unbutton his shirt while you settled in front of him in such a way that you were on his left side to better examine him. His hands deftly undid each set, no longer requiring assistance, even the ones from the cuffs. That drew a small smile from your face at the normality of his movements and you remembered that more than the man your heart had stupidly chosen, he was your patient. So, you decided to let your guard down.

Staying in his white sleeveless undershirt, you started checking every metal union and artificial joint, taking his arm between your hands and moving them in all the rotation axes allowed by each one. The junction with the skin on his shoulder was adequate and smooth, well healed and undamaged by movement. The response to nerve stimulation was normal, there were no signs of damage to structures, and all arcs of motion were fluid.

“It’s perfect,” you said smiling as you stared at it, truly amazed by his evolution.

“It is,” his voice was soft and deep against your ear. You lost track of how close you were to him as you immersed yourself in the wonderful result of your entire team's work. His voice took you out of your amazement and drew your eyes to his that were already pinned on you.

And they were beautiful. Of course, you’ve noticed it before but you’ve never been so close as to notice that inside his blue eye, just around the pupil, small brown grooves were formed, giving way then to light blue waves that became darker towards the periphery, as in that eye the earth will meet the waves of the sea. An unusual combination that contrasted wonderfully with his left eye, where pink predominated only in a small portion towards the left side of the pupil and then transformed into a fiery violet that took the rest of his iris, as if a nebula from the vast universe had chosen in his eye its place to exist.

Both framed by long lashes, unusually black for someone with almost white hair, topped by two thick snowy eyebrows and eventually traversed by silver locks that looked like threads of precious metal. A gorgeous face that were now in front of you, so close that you could feel his labored breathing. So close that you were disarmed under the pinning depth of his uneven eyes. So close that –

A knock on the door made you jerk back and you immediately stood up from your chair, facing the door that was opening slowly.

"Excuse me, Lord Ravus," Maria said softly. He looked at her for a second and his expression hardened, then nodded without saying a word.

She bowed her head with an equally grim expression and withdrew leaving the door open, ushering in another visitor. A woman appeared behind it, beautiful-faced and dignified, perfect hair and body in a fine dress and high heels. A beauty fit for a prince.

It was her.

Your blood ran cold when Ravus got up upon her arrival, the spectacle that awaited you was something you didn't want to witness, so you stepped aside. But she didn't move from the door.

The big, perfectly maked-up eyes widened in horror. She wasn't worried, or relieved, or slightly happy to see him. Just horrified. Her wide eyes settled on his arm with blatant contempt and the blood that for a moment had run cold through your veins began to boil.

How dare she look at him like that? Didn't she know the reason why he had to go through this? How was it that not a hint of compassion showed on the features of her perfect face?

“My apologies for not being more presentable,” Ravus said in a cold tone, still without his shirt. The face of that woman didn’t reflect the desire to speak and without realizing it, your feet began to advance to interpose your form in front of him.

“If you'll excuse us for a moment, I'll be able to finish my work and you could see him right away, if you don't mind,” your voice went out in a polite but cutting tone while you instinctively used your body to cover him from the hurtful gaze. The woman snapped her gaze at you and frowned in even more displeasure, but you didn’t back down straight in front of her. She seemed to breathe slightly deeper for a moment and, after giving him a disgusted look, turned sharply on her heels and left the room.

You just stood there staring at the door, gritting your teeth and breathing hard. Until a gentle hand on your arm made you realize how deeply you were scowling and how tightly you were clenching your fists. Relaxing your muscles at the touch, you lowered your shoulders and gazed at the floor. The hand gently pressed you to turn around and when you did it, bright heterochromatic eyes were looking at you with the greatest tenderness you could have ever seen. The line of his lips curved downward and the inner tip of his eyebrows arched slightly up.

“I am terribly sorry,” he said with soft voice, just above a whisper, and you felt a weight dropping on your stomach. The hand on your arm made its way down to hold yours and you pressed your lips in an attempt to hold back every single one of your impulses. "I should have told you that I was on the verge of an engagement."

"On the verge?" you asked, confused and upset. "You are," and you withdrew your hand from his, taking a step back.

"No," was his quick reply, following in your steps to get closer again. "It was not decided when I arrived at Insomnia. But her family...," he seemed to hesitate in his next words, looking at the door for a second as if he feared that someone was overhearing, to return to you right after with his voice growing darker. "Her family came up with a filthy trick to put pressure on me while I was away."

That made you consider him for a moment, reviewing every feature of his remorseful face. If this whole thing had been a trap… "And now there's nothing you can do...," you said softly, looking at him but talking like more to yourself.

He lowered his gaze and his shoulders went slack. "I'm afraid not."

Your eyes went then to his arm. His fingers moved idly against his trousers and the realization hit your mind. "That's why you talked to me through poems," your voice was low and filled with sadness.

He sighed softly. "Yes."

Now you felt guilty for cursing him. You overlooked that you were talking about nothing less than royalty and noble families and these things, well, they happened more often than not. But that didn't remove the fact that you had infatuated and that, apparently, it wasn't an unrequited feeling. And that made it so much worse.

Lowering your gaze, a sarcastic smile crossed your face at the idea that this whole thing was so alike to those movies you liked to watch, but it definitely seemed a lot more fun on television.

A cold hand taking yours returned you to this world. Looking up, you found his eyes again close to your face. "I...," his voice seemed unable to pronounce more than he wanted to say.

"No," you said kindly with a small smile on your face, taking his other flesh limb in yours. "Don't do this to you," squeezing both of his hands just a little, "and don't do this to me."

He pursed his lips and you gently released them, while you gave him a sad smile and drank in his gorgeous orbs perhaps one last time. His arms fell to his sides and you took a couple of steps back, then turning to walk to the door, opening it and leaving. He just stood there in the middle of the beautiful room, watching you go.

When you left you expected to find that woman in the hall, but no one was there. Unsurprising.

And no one came after you. Unsurprising as well.

There was nothing he could do. Or you.

 _Sigh_. What a long weekend was ahead.

<>

_The mother smiled through her wretchedness,  
For the new-born babe lay motionless._

_The nurses looked at her ringless hand.  
"'T is well," they said. "We understand."_

_But the surgeon sighed: "Alas! Not so.  
Life's feeble current yet may flow."_

_And day and night the cot beside,  
He tireless watched, naught left untried,_

_And wrestling dose and long with Death,  
He brought again the faltering breath,_

_To give the poor unwelcome life  
Back to the mother who was not wife,_

_Who took with loathing and with shame  
The babe that had nor place nor name._

_And the surgeon wrote in his private book:  
"Sin, sorrow, wrong, where'er I look._

_"I have saved a needless life. And why?  
That a babe risk Heaven before it die."_

<>

"I'm so sorry you had to find out in such a way," Luna spoke as she poured the tea for you. Tea, certainly not your favorite but you weren't going to say no to her.

"What do you mean?" you asked hesitantly. This girl didn't miss anything.

She giggled playfully and this time served the tea for her. "My apologies," the smile on her face gave her away. "I should not meddle in the affairs between you and my brother."

A small smile crossed your face as you drank your first sip of the bitter but not entirely unpleasant tea. As if she hadn't already done it, almost since you two met. "There's nothing between your brother and me," you replied calm but with a hint of sorrow.

"I know," her voice mirrored your tone. She sighed and took a sip from her cup, holding it delicately in her hands. A brief silence took the beautiful tearoom where you both were waiting for dinner time. Everything in the manor seemed neat, from the smallest spoon to the elaborate ceiling finish. From the tiny figure of the sylleblossom on the fine porcelain of the teacup to the great paintings on the walls. From the bedtime to the most prominent ball. From the youngest of servants to the queen who had welcomed you. "If only any of this had happened...," she dared to say.

That definitely piqued your curiosity but you didn't say anything, you just looked at her with an expectant expression and she, as always with that ease to read others, continued. "My brother has never agreed to the engagement and had asked my mother for time, but then all this happened and they took advantage of my brother's absence to contact the press and make them believe that it was already formal, although they deny it." You'd never seen her frowning before. "After the attack, Tenebrae was left weak and they are a powerful military family who have always armed the kingdom by their connections," her features grew dark with grief. "They just took advantage of this whole situation..."

You took a moment to process what you just heard. A very dirty move indeed, as he had described it, one from which he obviously could not easily get away. What kind of people were these? You thought you understood now why he didn't want this engagement. "Can I ask you a question?" you spoke thoughtfully and she gave you a soft nod. "Why did he ask your mother for time?"

Her face muscles suddenly relaxed and Luna made a soft but genuine smile, leaving her cup on the table as she rested her hands on her lap. "To find the right one," her blue, shining eyes locked on yours.

A gentle knock on the door didn't seem to take her out of her contemplation of you. "Excuse me, my Lady," Maria said after slightly opening the door, "dinner is served." Luna thanked her and the kind woman gave you a small smile before disappearing behind the carved, white surface.

The youngest Fleuret stood up first and you followed her. "Thank you for your company," she said after leaving the room and hooked you again by the elbow. Even though you were not that prone to physical demonstrations, this particular one didn't seem to bother you.

You gave her a smile and both walked in silence through a dim-lighted hall to reach the dinning room. A large table awaited, already filled with fine light blue plates, silver cutlery and trays, everything framed by beautiful, small bouquets of sylleblossoms mixed with other white flowers. Queen Sylva was already sitting at the head of the table, and she and Ravus got up immediately upon the arrival of the two of you.

A wave of heat ran through your body at the sight of him and your stomach seemed to twist inside you as he approached. Luna was guiding you by the arm to sit next to her on the left side of her mother while he positioned himself behind you and after giving you a small smile that touched you deeply, he moved the chair for you to sit, doing the same later with his sister.

He walked around the table and sat down at the queen's right hand, facing his sister. A nice sight of these tree, you had to admit. His mother always smiled at him and was easily caught Luna's giggle at any witty comment. Beautiful family. But the joy was short-lived when the missing guests appeared in the room.

That hateful woman burst - for lack of another word - into the room, followed by an older, big man in military uniform. Queen Sylva slowly rose to her feet followed by Luna, and for a moment you caught a glimpse of doubt in Ravus before getting up, as if defying, until he did it, visibly irritated though.

"Your Majesty," the old man came first to kiss the queen's hand, nodding politely at Ravus and Luna, and then turning his face to you in question.

"The doctor will keep us company this weekend," Queen Sylva said, gesturing with her hand in introduction.

"Oh!" The moustached man came immediately to you, rounding the table behind her. As he did so, you could notice how the queen was subtly wiping the back of her hand against her dress in one swift movement and you couldn't help having to hide a small smile. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet such a skillful surgeon," he said as he extended his hand for you to take it, planting an uncomfortable, long... wet kiss on the back of your hand.

"Thank you," you answered with a faked, short smile, withdrawing your hand courteously but quickly.

"We certainly lack such valuable knowledge here," the loud man's voice continued as he returned to his chair at the table and you turned subtly to look at the queen showing your empathy for having also had to suffer such a suffocating greeting. She looked at you with an ever so small smirk and glanced at your hand as if giving you permission to wipe yourself too, which you did imperceptibly when smoothing your clothes to sit down again. "Wouldn't you be interested in working at Tenebrae?" That old man asked all of a sudden, sitting across from you.

And it truly took you off guard. But you were not the only one surprised at the question. Ravus, who was reluctantly moving the chair for his" fiancée" to sit down, stopped suddenly in his motion to look at you. Your eyes met his briefly, to observe then how he earned a silent reprimand from those of that woman. At that gesture he resumed his task when he realized, dimming the sparkle in his eyes and hardening his features, to sit then again next to his mother when the lady was comfortably seated beside him. You almost wanted to throw up.

"I appreciate the offer," you bowed your head politely, "but I'm afraid I still have much work to do back in Lucis."

"Well," the big, old man laughed with his deep voice, while the servants began to distribute the dinner. "Whoever let you go, doctor, would be a fool."

Luna didn't miss the chance to giggle next to you. "I could not agree more," she said addressing the man but speaking loud enough so everyone could hear her. "In fact, I propose a toast for it," and she raised her beautiful glass recently filled with white wine. You turned to look at her trying to awaken telepathic powers to tell her to shut her mouth since obviously she made no effort to look at you. Then you noticed that the first one to happily mirror her was the military, cheering as he did it, immediately followed by the queen and Ravus. The woman was the last, barely lifting her glass without looking at you, unlike Ravus, who held his glass up high with his eyes trained on your face.

Embarrassed, you thanked them and raised yours up to everyone, taking a small sip of the amazing liquid, wishing you could drink it all at once to calm the increasing tension building up inside. They all drank from theirs and leaving the glasses on the table, they began to eat when the queen started her plate.

It looked delicious indeed, but the knot in your stomach threatened not to let anything go through. However, with a not so superhuman effort, you also started eating. The light talk was led for the most part by the queen and the old man, discussing superficial matters here and there, the future princess always giving her opinion, from time to time Luna intervening while you and Ravus remained silent unless something was asked directly. Not only because you didn’t like to talk, and apparently, he neither, but because hearing that woman’s voice was irritating, to say the least.

“The weather has been inclement with us these days,” the military said, looking at the foggy windows.

“Oh, yes!” that woman replied, letting out a little gasp after sipping her wine. “I believe I will need another cover for tonight. Last time I almost froze to death.” Great, she was also going to spend the night here. You stopped slightly in your cutting of the meat in front of you but the glare that Ravus threw at her almost made you laugh. “Well,” she continued, noticing the piercing eyes glaring briefly in her direction, “that old woman who serves you can take care of that.”

 _This-fucking-dumb-ass-bitch_. “Maria,” you snapped, and the perfectly lined eyes fixed on yours fiercely.

“What?” she challenged.

“The woman you’re talking about. Her name is Maria.”

If looks could kill, right now you’d be in the beyond reuniting with your beloved parents and your suffering on this mortal plane would have ended. But you wouldn't have left alone, oh no, because you matched her gaze and instinctively grasped tighter the knife you were holding. The silence around you could almost be touched and was only interrupted by the polite voice of Queen Sylva.

“That will not be a concern. Indeed, _Maria_ will supply your needs,” she said, marking the name just the slightest bit. For a moment you thought that all the makeup on that woman's face was going to start to crack and a hideous monster would emerge as her true form, but nothing that interesting happened, so you returned to your delicious dinner bringing the piece of meat that you had cut to your mouth. While you chewed, you looked at Ravus who was watching you in amazement, then taking his glass of wine and hiding a small smile behind it while he drank. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the smile on Luna's face and you lacked the courage to look at the queen again for the rest of the dinner, which passed once more between comments about the weather and matters of people you didn’t know.

After enjoying a wonderful dessert consisting of a delicious shortcrust dough stuffed with what you knew were some kind of berries only found in Tenebrae, dinner was finally over and you were able to retire to what would be your room, but not before thanking the queen who gave you good night with a nice smile that almost made you blush and a warm hug from Luna that you swore made the undesirable guest infuriated.

You walked alone down the beautiful hallway to your room and when you closed the door, a sighed left your mouth in an attempt to drown out the horrible thought that she might be spending the night with him. But no, not with what you saw today. You hoped imagining it was just ridiculous.

The night through the carved windows looked beautiful, so you got closer to watch it for a while and slow down the fast pace of the day that was already ending. Despite the haze that already covered much of the landscape, the stars were clear in the black moonless sky. The cold crept unstoppably through the imperceptible cracks between the window and the wall, so you took a large wool coat that you’d brought at Ignis's suggestion and wrapped yourself in it, sitting in one of the armchairs near the window. A neat place, indeed, with wonderful people, and yet there was this family who'd dared to mess with everyone here. People like that were everywhere.

You’d been lost in your thoughts and in the dark sky for who knows how long when a gentle knock on the door alerted you. Wrapped in your woolen shield, you got up and went to the door, finding a smiling Maria when you opened it.

“I hope I did not interrupt your sleep,” she said, kindly.

“No, no. I wasn’t sleeping yet,” you smiled at her and sighed. “I’m tired but it just doesn’t come.”

The smile on her face seemed to grow and she turned to take something from the table next to the door. “Lord Ravus sends you this,” she offered you a transparent cup of tea with small violet flowers dipped in an amber liquid. “It’s lavender tea.”

Of course, because he knew perfectly well that you would be having a hard time trying to sleep right now. This man. “Thank you,” you took the teacup with a content smile, being sure that you’d never met a man as thoughtful as him. For your misfortune.

“And I bring you this,” she said then, taking in her hands a white, thick and fluffy bedspread. “It's quite cold tonight.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, holding your cup of tea, and she returned the gesture. “I don't think I freeze to death,” you replied, and both laughed a little louder again.

“May I put it on your bed?” she asked with a hint of laugh still on her voice.

“Of course, please,” you answered, grateful.

She walked into your room and quickly pulled the extra quilt on, turning then to go back out while you watched her amusedly sipping your soothing hot drink. You wanted to ask her how she found out what had happened, but it didn't matter. You guessed events like that ran quickly through a place like the manor.

“Other guests will have to get a bit cold tonight as they don't have covers like this one, I’m afraid,” with a faked concern and a small smile, she almost whispered before stepping outside the door.

“Well, I guess they'll have to get used to it if they want to live here,” you answered, hiding your smile behind your cup.

She giggled playfully and took the door handle to close it. “I pray the gods for snow,” she raised her brows, smiling. “Good night, doctor.”

“Good night, Maria,” you replied with a small laugh. “Thank you.” And she closed it, leaving you with your warm beverage and a warmed heart.

The tea already seemed to start to take effect and you felt sleepy. Putting on your pajamas and tucking between the covers, you finished what was left and put the cup on the table next to the bed. The white curtains falling from the frame began to blur and the soft mattress cradled your loose muscles. The extra blanket was definitely necessary.

In silence before falling asleep, you gave thanks for it. And for the tea.

<>

The next day began with a breakfast accompanied only by Luna since the others were attending important matters, although you already assumed what they were. Anyway, the rest of the morning until pass noon you didn't have time to think about it when you met your colleagues from Tenebrae.

You spent a good part of the day touring the hospital, discussing surgical techniques, giving your opinion on some cases and supporting the already wonderful doctors of this place with the knowledge you could provide. Lunch was full of anecdotes, interesting cases and many questions about you and your work, but you felt good, it seemed like a good team and you even left with another job offer that you had to reject politely again.

There was nothing really planned to do when you returned to the manor in the afternoon, so you decided to spend some time alone and walk through the gardens. It was a wonderful sight. A field of sylleblossoms as far as the eye could see, fluttering in the wind in the middle of the sunny sky. You approached one of them to detail it and realized that the ones here were smaller than the ones you’d received, but they smelled just as nice. The wind carried that aroma that filtered into every corner of the castle and that could even be perceived at a certain distance from its grounds.

Following the paths that were formed between one field and another, you went deeper and deeper into the gardens until you came to a construction similar to a small house – well, small compared to the manor - but with semi-transparent walls and thin but strong beams that supported it standing. A greenhouse, you thought, and you peeked through the half-open door discovering that no one was there.

But inside the little fortress was what you thought were hundreds of multi-colored plants and flowers, each in its own little garden. Peering here and there, looking at the labels on each one, you saw that there were many plants that were not native to Tenebrae. Some were blends, some were enhancements, but all were certainly beautiful. The scents and colors of the flowers combined and gave the place an exotic and pleasant touch to the senses. Someone went to great lengths to maintain this place.

When you got to the bottom of the little house, you discovered a large area filled only with sylleblossoms. But this time you did recognize these. They were bigger, bluer, and their scent was much more concentrated but softer. Whoever was doing this had found a way to further embellish the native flower of this beautiful kingdom.

“Those are _magnum persequendum_ ,” the familiar voice startled you, forcing a little jump while you were almost with your head stuck between the huge flowers. “My apologies,” Ravus gave you a small smile when you turned to him. “It was not my intention to scare you.”

“It’s ok,” you said, recovering your breath. “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t be here.”

“It is fine,” he said, speaking with a calm voice and walking towards the flowers, delicately taking a petal between his long fingers. “It pleases me that you admire the beauty of this place.”

A beauty now completed with his presence. “Is this yours?”

“It is,” he answered, slowly looking around with a glimpse of something that you could describe as love. “I enjoy the marvels of nature,” and his eyes landed on you.

Your breath got caught and you could only swallow your embarrassment, returning your gaze to the flowers, staring at the big, blue petals of the modified sylleblossoms. “These were the ones you sent me… right?” your voice was low and paused.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Magnum persequendum…” A little hum and a small smile left your lips at the meaning. “What is that you are chasing?” you asked, turning your eyes to his.

He took some sharp scissors from a small table behind him and slenderly cut one of the stems, taking the flower in his hand. “Life, I believe,” his steps grew closer to you until he was some centimeters away, offering you the freshly cut gift. “I have been deprived of many things because of my duty and I wished the opportunity to find… love for myself.” You accepted the flower and after a brief smile on his lips when you did it, his features went somber. “But I'm afraid that has also been taken from me.”

Pursing your lips, your eyes trailed the flower. It was unfair, indeed. In other circumstances, the two of you might never have met, but here you were, and yet it was impossible.

Your eyes watered slightly and getting even closer, his hand reached gently to your chin. After gulping down your tears, you looked at him and his eyes were speaking volumes, filling the entire place with unspoken words. Surely, just as yours.

"However," he continued with voice like wind, "I believe that, even though out of my reach... I found it." Half-lidded eyes went from yours to your lips, speaking just above a whisper, consuming you in his breath. “…May I?"

Unable to hold it back anymore, a hand on his chest was your wordless answer and leaning forward, his lips found yours in the so awaited kiss. Soft, warm, his lips caressed yours like velvet while his flesh hand ran through your neck to land on your nape. His metal arm held you close to him by your waist and your hand that wasn’t holding the flower, surrounded him by his neck to entangle then in his hair. Kissing you with sweetness and tenderness, all the sounds around went off. His soft hair between your fingers giving you something to anchor while his lips caressed yours with the softest touch. Then curious, eager but gentle, his tongue found its way inside your mouth to meet yours and you almost melted when he let out the tiniest gasp at the contact. His taste was sweet, the traces of some treat that he seemed to eat during the day, traveling your tongue with longing. His hands holding you impossibly closer while you almost cling to him like to dear life. 

The dance went on and on, taking little pauses to catch the breath, but coming back to the other once more like magnets. Impossible to separate, impossible to move away, you felt that you could no longer leave him, and he kept drawing you again and again back to his touch.

Foreheads pressed against each other; his fingertips trailed your face while his other hand kept you flushed against him. Your own hand running through his jaw, taking in his breath, and lost in the warmth of his embrace.

You didn't know how long you were like this and you didn't care. The light outside those semi-transparent walls seemed to start to dim. You both knew that you had just this moment and this moment alone, so you stretched it, squeezed it, treasured it.

The flowers around were the only witnesses and seemed to celebrate you with their strongest and sweetest scent.

Farewell after this would tear you apart tomorrow.

You would deal with the consequences…for the rest of your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The romantic poem is "Somewhere or other" by Christina Rossetti.
> 
> "Magnum persequendum" means "great chase". I played with that name since the meaning of the blue sylleblossom is "a heart that does not give up" and the translation of the japanese name is literally "flower of zeal". 
> 
> Anyway, after all this rambling, I hope you all liked it. I feel like I poured my heart into this particular one.
> 
> Thanks for still being here, you're the best!


	9. And if you don't put too much resistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Sorry for the delay, although it was a bit on purpose. Don't hate me.
> 
> I had to change the warnings because... well, you'll see.

Radio silence.

Just over a month had passed since you came back from Tenebrae and it was all but muted. You hadn't spoken to Gladio, you hadn't had any new encounters with Nyx, and you didn't know a word from Ravus. At all. You'd cut off all communication with him since you left. The single time he dared to call you, you didn't answer your phone. You didn't even hear any news on the radio anymore because you didn't want to know a damn thing. 

It was just too painful. 

Enough was with your crying every night just for the memories. It was almost a habit now, reading the poems from the book that he insisted to bring back with you and where you kept the flower that he gave you in the greenhouse, now pressed against one of the covers.

You looked at it and smelled it every day even though you had a fresh one in the vase on the table next to your door. Just as he promised, even though you refused, one sylleblossom every month… for the rest of your life. This was the second one. 

It was probably masochism on both sides, but he told you that he will do it because if you couldn't be together, this way you would know that he was always thinking of you.

And hell if it was working.

It made you terribly sad to look at it, welcoming you every night at your arrival, and yet it made you terribly happy at the same time, knowing that somehow, he was there. If this were a damn movie, you would be delighted on your couch, crying as you watched it and wondering why beautiful things like that didn’t happen to you. But this was real now, this was actually happening. And it sucked.

What fools you two had been. Him, for believing that he had the selfish right to seek love on his own when his first duty was to his nation, and you for having seen him as a man rather than a future monarch.

The days passed one after another in an almost unbearable monotony. Get up, go to work, get home, rinse and repeat. You were hardly at home, working even on weekends. Being alone with your own thoughts for too long was a luxury you couldn't afford. Maybe later, but not now. 

In front of the mirror in your bedroom, you looked at your reflection. The dark marks under your eyes were bigger now and slightly more swollen. Other than that there was nothing else on your face that would tell about your current mood, but you still looked different. You didn't know what it was but it was there, at least for you. Involuntarily, your eyes drifted to the photo of the camping trip with the boys and the big fish that was wedged in the corner of the mirror frame. Happier times, no doubt, but you had to move on, because what else could you do? So you left your bedroom, grabbed your things and taking a final look at the flower beside your door, you left home to start another thrilling day. 

The consultations at the Citadel went by without much trouble, making time fly in the morning and then you went to lunch alone for the fourth time in the week. It was as if, somehow, everyone had disappeared from your life. Or you would have disappeared from everyone's, you didn't know for sure. 

But the hospital had become your safe place - as if it hadn't been before. The constant occupation and the need for all your concentration there had allowed you to counteract the terrible effects of a broken heart. Work, the perfect antidote for a dull mind. Sure. 

"Who are you going to the ball with?" Oh, your always reliable friend Xavier, kicking you on the ground. 

"I think I'll go alone. That if I go," you answered without spirit as you both washed your hands, getting ready for the procedure that was about to start. 

He turned his face to you and spoke with soothing voice. "Come on, you have to go. You need to distract yourself."

That was true, you needed even more distractions, and the Founder's day ball was the perfect opportunity to feel even more miserable with all the happy couples and beautiful waltzes around. "I don't think I'm in the mood for that."

"What are you talking about? Party is what you need," Xavier replied with a final tone. His remedy for everything. "And who knows, maybe true love is there."

"Oh, please, shut up," you said truly annoyed. "That's the last thing I want to hear about." Taking a paper napkin to dry your hands, you turned on your heels and entered the surgery room where your patient was almost ready. 

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Xavier followed you, standing in front of the aide to get dressed. "I'm just saying that you're not going to be alone. Your friends will be there, me included."

"Yeah, with Prompto," the aide was tying up your surgical gown while you carefully donned your gloves.

You couldn't help but notice the pleased smile on Xavier's face. The two of them had decided to get serious, and even though you didn't stop fearing for Prompto's emotional integrity, you had to admit that both of your friends seemed happy.

"Well, yeah," he answered without losing the smile. "But _we_ are going to be there with you."

Fully dressed, you stood by your patient's side that was already on the stretcher. "I'm not up for threesomes right now." The woman looked up to you and you made a sheepish smile with your eyes while she fell asleep from the anesthesia.

Xavier stood across from you with his hands in front of him to avoid contamination and smiling, evil eyes. "My mistake. A threesome with us is exactly what you need."

The surgical nurse giggled and, for the first time in days, you truly laughed. Everyone took their positions while you shook your head in slight amusement. "When will I be able to get rid of you?" you jested as you received the scalpel. 

He chuckled and looked at the incision you started. "Probably never, so I suggest you to buy new lingerie."

Having to stop for a second in your cut for the laugh, you looked at him with content and thankful eyes. He blinked once with visible wrinkles in the corners of his and began to assist you. As he always did in life since you met him. 

Gods bless this man. 

And this place. 

<>

  
  


Of all days you could be late, this had to be it. The dress, obviously black, plain with a long, delicate skirt that reached your feet and the shoes were fine, but your damn hair didn't want to cooperate. You wanted to pick it up so your bare back was uncovered but there was no human power that could make it fit into a slightly decent bun. 

Maybe it was a sign that you shouldn't go to that stupid ball, and you'd better stay at home to continue wallowing in your pity party.

No, come on. You could do it. 

With your arms already sore from trying so hard, you sighed tiredly in front of the mirror and simply decided to straighten it a bit and gather it into a ponytail so that the hair fell in a straight line exactly with your spine. You arranged some hair to the side on your forehead and although it was not what you had in mind, it didn't look bad.

The day at the hospital had been really busy. You've made up your mind to finish early so you can get to the salon and be ready, but sometimes things just don't go the way you expect. Like your hairstyle, for example, or your lovelife. However, when you looked at yourself in the mirror, the sight wasn't bad at all, so giving yourself one last look of approval, you grabbed your bag and went out to the Citadel. 

Tired from the day, you made it, but telling yourself that you'd be leaving early. You really wanted to sleep. Lately it was all you wanted to do if you weren't working.

"Doc, good night," one of the glaives on duty for the night recognized you. 

"Good night, Libertus," you said, turning to him with a polite smile. "Having fun?" 

The man in gala uniform smiled. "As usual but better dressed," then he offered an arm for you. "Let me guide you to the ballroom."

Chuckling, you took his arm and started walking at his side. "Please, or I might get lost in here."

And you thought you had been sarcastic, but there were actually so many people that it may could have happened. The path to the hall was overflowing with beautiful dresses and elegant men, many dignitaries and dozens of glaives stationed every so often in the corridors along with the occasional member of the Crownsguard. Greeting those you knew with a nod, you expected to see a familiar face that never appeared.

"Where's Nyx?" you asked Libertus. 

Turning the last corner to reach the huge wide-open doors that led into the ballroom, he paused on his guide. "He was assigned to the upper floors. You know, to avoid nosy people." 

"Yeah, because you don't want couples trying to sneak in the royal quarters," you said with a small grin. 

Libertus chuckled and gently let go of your arm. "Exactly, and less if the royal family of Tenebrae is there." Your eyes landed suddenly on his face and your heart stopped. The clueless man bowed his head to you before you could ask anything else. "I gotta go, doc. Enjoy the evening." 

"Yeah, thanks," you answered automatically, following Libertus with your eyes as he went his way, trying to find more information somehow in the body that was disappearing in the crowd. 

But there was nothing else to know. Luna almost always came to these events, Queen Sylva from time to time although she was a rare sight in herself and Ravus was well known for avoiding gatherings of more than three people, so there was nothing to worry about in the end. You took a deep breath and dove into the sea of faces that was the Founder's day ball. 

While you knew a lot, really a lot of people in the Citadel, you were surprised that you didn't see a single known person in what it took you to get to the middle of the place. You were heading to the only known thing you could see in the distance, the cocktail bar, when your phone rang in your little purse.

 **Noctis:** _Look to your left_

Lowering your phone, you followed the instruction to find the prince surrounded by some other unrecognizable faces. His greeting in the distance was a small smile and his eyes were almost crying out for help. Poor man, he must be in the middle of a really interesting conversation. So with a little grin on your face and a slow but firm step, you walked towards him and stood where others around him could see you.

"Doctor, good night," Noctis intoned a deep and royal voice that you'd never heard before from him and the others turned to you. 

Bowing your head, you smiled at them who did the same and followed his charade. "Good night, your Highness. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all," you were just about to laugh. "In fact, we were discussing the economic impact of new trade routes for Cleigne wheat.”

"Oh," you exclaimed, smiling in an attempt to control the imminent fit of laughter. Were they really talking about that? No wonder why he was bored to death. "Perhaps I can give you my point of view while we dance?" If he wanted to get out of here, he would have to cooperate. Even if that meant dancing.

A quick grimace crossed his face and then his eyes flashed with relief, smiling briefly. "I'd be delighted," Noctis answered and offering an arm to you, he nodded at the men, then walking by your side to the dance floor. 

"I'd be _delighted_?" you murmured as you walked, holding back a laugh. "What the hell was that?" 

He placed himself in front of you and shyly put a hand on your waist while the other was holding your hand up, sighing with face red like an apple. "Shut up," and as you finally laughed, both began to sway to the rhythm of music.

Noctis was not a bad dancer. He was not as graceful as Ignis, who was born, or as strong in his lead as Gladio, but hours of practice in his lessons, because every prince should know how to dance, had made him a quite acceptable partner.

"I thought you'd come with Ravus," he finally said. "You two seemed to got along."

"You know he doesn't come to these things," you answered before he gave you a spin. "And besides, I don't think his fiancée would have let him attend with someone else." 

Noctis chuckled and grabbed your waist a bit tighter to swing you with the increasing beat of the melody. "He's here."

Your feet almost stumbled with his at his words. Great. Now maybe you should have to leave the party earlier than you thought. "Well," you sighed, "I guess they have to show up in society."

"What are you talking about?" Noctis asked with a confused expression. 

"With his fiancée. Don't those things work like that?" 

A feature of realization hit his face then. "Didn't you hear?" 

Now you were the one confused. "Hear what?" 

"He ended the engagement. Like a week after you left Tenebrae."

Your eyes went fixed on the smiling prince, looking at him without looking, while you let yourself be carried away by his steps, almost mindless. How did he do it? It was a dead end. And most important of all, why didn't he tell you?

Suddenly, Noctis' smile grew radiant and his eyes traveled somewhere you didn't discover until you turned your face to see Luna walking through the front door. Beautiful, as always, in a marvelous light gray dress, followed by her mother, just as elegant... And Ravus.

Your heart stopped in your throat when you saw the silver-haired man dressed in his gala coat, adorned with the insignia that gave him his rank within the Tenebrae militia as the highest commander being the prince and his long sword tied at his side.

"Sorry," Noctis said, leaving your hand with a sheepish smile that you answered with a wink, obviously going to Luna's encounter. You just stood there, in the middle of the dancefloor with hands clasped at your front, petrified. Ravus didn't see you at first but when Noctis approached them, he followed the former way of his steps to find you. Even though you kept wondering why you didn't know anything, the shiest and tiniest of smiles appeared in your face that he seemed to mirror. He seemed like a child and you couldn't help but feeling touched at the view. 

"What a moron to leave you alone in the middle of the dance," a hoarse voice spoke beside you and your eyes strayed to it. 

"Gladio!" You didn't even know why you were surprised to see him if it was obvious that he would be there.

A bright smile appeared on his face, framed by his perfectly slicked back hair. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," you replied between a sigh. Your heart was going a mile a minute, not because of him but it certainly didn't help to see him in his Crownsguard uniform. "You look really good, too."

He hummed behind his grin and extended a big hand for you to take. "One of my tasks is to finish what Noct leaves in half." 

You took it, doubtful, because you didn't want to leave your position, but before you knew it, Gladio was already surrounding you with his other arm and began to lead you to the rhythm of the music that continued incessant. With a shy smile you followed him and giving a quick glance around the room as you turned, you no longer saw Ravus. Luna, Noctis and the queen were still in the same place where you had seen them last time, but Ravus was not. 

"Did you come alone?" Gladio asked as a small wave of panic began to eat at you inside at the absence of Ravus.

"Uh, yeah," trying to force your attention to the big guy so as not to seem rude. "I wasn't sure if I was coming."

A white grin plastered in the hairy man's face as he peered down at you. "Well, I'm glad you're here."

Gladio's ability to make you blush seemed to have no limits even after all this time. A shy smile was your answer and for a moment it diverted your attention from the frantic visual search of the prince. A strong but graceful turn made you laugh and his deep voice resonated with yours while the couples around kept dancing in circles and the murmurs from every corner mixed with the beautiful string instruments. 

You gave up. At least you knew that Ravus was here and, hopefully, you would find him at some point in the night. So you let out some of the tension that was already building up in your shoulders and let yourself be carried away by the strong arms. Delicate moves for someone so big. You already knew how smooth he could be. 

Looking down at you again, he smiled. The shine on those amber gems always amazed you."What do you say if-" 

"May I steal your partner, Amicitia?" 

If you could have opened your eyes wider, you would have. The unexpected voice stopped both of you in the dance and your heart at the same time.

"Ravus," you exclaimed just above a whisper, turning to look at him. His deep frown was there but the sparkle in his eyes when he briefly met your gaze distracted you from it. His eyes only found you fleetingly, to fix then fiercely on those from the taller man.

"We're trying to dance here," Gladio's voice sounded even more deep than usual as he squared his shoulders without letting you go. 

A small, lopsided smirk appeared on Ravus' face. Rare sight. "I do not believe she was trying."

Oh. Gods. 

Now Gladio was scowling. "What do you want, Your Highness?" those last words pronounced with faked respect while he took a step towards him. 

"Gladio," you quietly warned him, putting a hand on his arm, Ravus firmly in place without moving a single inch away. Some curious eyes were already beginning to be interested in the exchange. 

Gladio continued despite your calling. "Are you coming for another long stay?"

"Perhaps," Ravus challenged coldly. 

"Great," Gladio made a devilish smile, "did you bring your poetry book with you?" 

"Gladio!" you snapped angrily at him and he turned his narrowed eyes to you. A snort from him was the last you heard before he suddenly turned and walked away from you, defeated but with long and firm steps. 

You turned to look at Ravus who was following in the footsteps of the huge man and then he gazed down at you. You just stared at him, breathing hard, angry for the show but more so for being in the middle of a testosterone fight.

"I'm sorry," there were so many things you wanted to tell him but first you had to fix this. You just couldn't leave Gladio like that. "I'll be…," taking a step backwards. "I'll be right back."

Ravus' features hardened just the slightest but like understanding, he closed his eyes and gave you a soft nod. You took a deep breath and turned on your heels to follow the angry shield. 

His footsteps led you to one of the balconies that surrounded the ballroom. As the crowd laughed and danced inside, Gladio stood with his hands firmly resting on the railing, staring out at the horizon in the darkness that covered the city. Frowning deeply, lips tight and his massive chest rocking with each airy breath.

"What was that?" you asked as you stood behind him. A deep, sonorous breath was his answer that prevented you from talking any more. So you just stayed there with your hands clasped behind, looking at him and then at the dark landscape. Several beats passed and when you saw that the silence didn't disappear, now you took a deep breath yourself and got ready to leave. You couldn't blame him.

Suddenly, he turned around and with three long steps he was in front of you. Instinctively, you took a couple of steps back, landing against the wall. A small, sad smile took place in his handsome face, directing his gaze to the floor, then he leaned forward, resting his hands on the wall at each side of your head. 

"We can't keep doing this," he spoke in a quiet and hoarse voice, after giving a long sigh. 

Relaxing your shoulders after the sudden movement, was your turn to sigh. "I know."

Taking his hands off of the wall, he put them in the pocket of his trousers, staying in front of you but giving you your personal space. "Gods know what I feel for you but…," his amber eyes found yours, "but I guess things just don't work sometimes."

Clasping your hands in front of you, you considered his words. Yes, it hadn't work even though you tried, but you thought of him as your friend after all and you wanted him to be happy. "You know you have a special place in my heart, don't you?" tilting your head just a little with a knowing smile. "You always will."

His eyes seemed to shine and a true smile found its way on his lips. "I know," he nodded. "Just like you in mine." Taking a step forward again, he took your hands in his while you smiled. "I just don't want us to keep hurting each other with this."

"Hm," you pursed his lips and grabbed his hands a little bit tighter. "This is toxic."

A soft chuckle left his chest. "Yeah…" 

Both stayed like that for some heartbeats, saying goodbye in silence to each other as the music continued to play a few feet away. It was for the best, and to your surprise you realized that you no longer felt anything but sincere affection for him. It no longer hurt, you no longer missed him, you just thanked him for his company. Probably he felt the same way, too. No one tied to a whim, nothing more than a friendship.

"Come here," he said and pulled you into a warm and tight hug. You hugged him back as those strong arms you loved once wrapped your smaller form and it made you smile. You were grateful to have the chance of being with him just like this. Then he kissed your temple and spoke playfully in your ear. "Promise me you're gonna invite me to your wedding."

"What wedding?" you said, laughing in his arms. 

A chuckle and a rub on your back were his answers. Then letting you go, he offered you his arm. "Let's go inside."

"Okay," you hook yours around his and after giving you a final look, he led you both back to the ballroom. The atmosphere was still the same but you felt a great weight off your shoulders. Light, relieved, of his arm you entered the great room to continue with the second part of your revelations of the night. Only that Ravus was nowhere in sight. Again.

"Guess it's time for the announcements," Gladio said as you saw King Regis taking the stage where the orchestra was. 

"Announcements?" 

"Yeah," a grin appeared on his lips as he looked at the stage, too. "Good things are coming, hopefully."

You were about to ask what things when the king began and your eyes drifted to his partners in the place. The whole Tenebraen Royal Family and Noctis, of course. Ravus standing next to his mother, hands on his back, was quite a vision.

Ignis and Prompto joined you at that moment. Greeting them with a whisper and a kiss on the cheek, the four of you paid attention to the man standing at the lectern. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," he started. "It is a pleasure for us to have you all here tonight, celebrating our tradition and the foundation of our beloved city." Loud applause took the place that made the monarch smile. Then he continued with the same dignity. "Your joy is certainly pleasing and it encourages me to overlook the great part of my speech in order to add more reasons to make this day even more memorable."

Some laughs and murmurs ran through the hall that were immediately silenced when after a brief and knowing look at the royal family from the king, he continued. "And so I will do it. It is nothing but a true honor for me to start this night announcing the engagement of my son, Prince Noctis, with Princess Lunafreya Nox Fleuret from Tenebrae."

And immediately the room erupted in cheerings and applause. The three men next to you were clapping energetically, with a sincere smile on their faces that touched you to the core. You even saw teary eyes on Ignis, unlike Prompto who made no effort to hide his happiness.

"Who would have thought that Noct would be the first of us to get married?" Gladio said as he crossed his arms, sighing happily. 

Ignis hummed and finished his applause. "If you weren't so empty-headed you would surely have been the first."

That got a laugh out of Prompto and you. When you turned to look at Ignis he had a small mocking smile on his face and gave you the tiniest of glances in complicity. He sure knew the time for everything. 

"Thank you very much for your sincere enthusiasm," King Regis continued with a catched voice with emotion while the happy couple on the stage smiled at each other, holding their hands. "I am sure that we all wish them the best of futures and that we celebrate this historic union between Tenebrae and Lucis." Another small applause echoed in the room while Queen Sylva gave a small nod and an easy, short smile. 

Of course, that was how Ravus had gotten rid of the engagement. An alliance of this kind between the two nations would make them dependent on no one. On no family. Brilliant. Without taking credit from Noctis but something here made you see Luna's hand. Wow. 

Then the room fell silent with an aura of joy floating in the air. The smile on everyone's face remained as they waited for the king to continue his speech. "Now, I'd wish you to allow me to make another great announcement." He cleared his throat and adopted a more serious posture. "Niflheim was greatly weakened after the defeat suffered at Tenebrae where Prince Ravus bravely fought and commanded the troops that drove them from their territory." A brief look at the prince and a court nod in return completed the exchange. "That is why a few weeks ago a high delegate from the Empire traveled to Lucis to find a way out of the war that has subjected us for so many years."

The murmurs again didn't wait. "After a long meeting, hard deliberations in the Council and the consideration of the best option for our nations and for Eos, I am pleased to announce the peace treaty with Niflheim that will be signed in a week from now here at the Citadel." 

"What?" you mumbled to yourself. So this was the big thing that was going on here. 

The murmurs increased in volume and the happiness that filled the atmosphere soon turned into uncertainty and questions of all kinds that you could hear around you. _Why now?_ Some woman asked his partner behind you. _After all they've done?_ Another man talked. _Why here?_ The questions kept going and all you could do was look at the stage where you found Ravus' eyes looking back at you. His expression was hard but you felt it was more due to the situation, because at the moment you gave him a tiny smile and a blink, his features softened for your delight. 

"I am aware this is sudden for everyone," King Regis continued speaking. "But I assure you that we have made this decision with the utmost rigor and solely for the purpose of ensuring peace and the unity of our nations. The Empire will have to answer for its heinous crimes and in the next few days we will be giving you more details of what will be signed." The spirits seemed to calm down little by little while you continued thinking about those news. Yes, the horrors of the Empire had been terrible, but if that meant that no more lives would be lost and that you would never see the things you saw again, well, so be it. "I hope to have the support of all of you in this great day to come. Now, please, keep enjoying the evening and celebrating what will be a free and peaceful city like never before. Thank you very much."

Another round of applause and the music began again soft and melodious, not like to dance, but rather to set and calm the recent euphoria.

"So that was it, huh?" you asked, turning to Ignis. 

"Yes," he answered, adjusting his glasses. "It's been rather difficult weeks."

"We can't let our guard down," Gladio said after a sigh. Neither of them seemed frankly convinced by the idea. Not that you could blame them. 

"We can just hope for the best," now your eyes turned to Prompto who had a somber expression. "With a bit of luck we won't hear from Niflheim again." 

He smiled at you and you returned the gesture, you really didn't know what might be going through his head with that treatise. But his smile grew when Xavier reached his side and took him by the waist. You were surprised to see that your old friend seemed really pleased too.

"Hey, princess," he greeted you with a wink and then came to hug you. "Stunning as always, don't you?" 

You chuckled and he let you go. "I didn't have time for more." 

"Well, lucky us," he grinned and returned to his boyfriend's side. "Hey, how about a drink. Would you come with us, guys?" 

"That's a yes for me," Gladio replied. 

"I do not see why not," Ignis surprisingly seconded. 

"Alright," Xavier said, passing an arm around Prompto's arms. "See you later, princess."

"Hey, what?" you whined. "I'm not invited?" 

"I'd love you to come with us but you should stay here," Xavier smirked. 

"Wha-" You watched in surprise as the group of men walked away and nobody seemed to care that you were left alone, practically in the middle of the dance floor. What a bunch of idiots. But it didn't matter, there were more tables around where you could get yourself a drink, and you were getting ready to do it with a grimace of dignity, when your steps were cut off by a tall figure dressed in white, purple and silver. A small smile on his face and an extended hand as the waltz began to play. 

"May I have this dance?" Ravus asked. 

Glancing up at him, it took your clever brain for surgery a couple of seconds to process who was in front of you and what he was asking. Suddenly you felt your heart in your throat and with a wide smile, coming back to the realms of reality, you put your hand in his. "Of course."

His smile seemed to grow and proud, he took you right to the center of the dancefloor, while you started to feel a slight embarrassment for the eyes that began to pry. One arm went around your waist while the other held your hand up. Close, very close, with gentle force and graceful movements, he led you both in the dance.

The turns came and went. Your hand in his trembled slightly and the other on his shoulder sought anchor to this plane. The faces around were lost until it was just the two of you, dancing in an empty room that was placed in another world. He never took his eyes off you. With those steps in which the dance forced you to move away, his eyes followed you attentively, then his hand finding you again to pull you towards him and wrapping you, as if cursing the music for making you turn away from him for those unbearable seconds. 

It was like a dream and you couldn't stop smiling, holding the urge to rest your temple on his cheek, to wrap your arms around him and dance until the music disappeared.

"I'm happy to see you here," you finally broke the comfortable silence because you almost wanted to scream. 

He smiled and his voice came out soft and deep. "I came only for you."

Just what you needed. Now you were screaming for sure, on the inside at least. But that didn’t stop your smile from growing wider. "I thought you came for your sister."

"I would have come either way tonight." His eyes on you shining brighter than the stars above the glass dome. 

This _had_ to be a dream. It was impossible that after all these weeks of bitter suffering, he was here telling you those sweet things. But who cared. It was _your_ dream. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" you asked him after a soft turn. There had to be a good reason for him not to tell you about the ending of his engagement. 

His brows made a quick knot that disappeared almost instantly. "I called you but you didn't answer."

Widening your eyes in realization, you turned your face to look at your side. "Oh shit," you whispered. Of course, _that_ call. 

He made a small chuckle and pulled you a bit closer against him. "It is fine. I understand your reasons."

"But-" you felt like a whining child. "But why didn't you… try again?" Right. As if you had done it if you had been in his place. What a stupid question.

He seemed amused by your complaint. "Would you have answered me?" 

Good point. "Probably not," you smiled, embarrassed. 

"I didn't wish to put any kind of pressure on you." The music was almost reaching its end. "But, you are right. Forgive me for not having been a little more insistent."

"No, no," you realized the absurd of your request with a small laugh. "Is just… That would have saved me a lot of… things."

"What things?" he asked, curious. 

What could you tell him? That it would have saved you a lot of crying, nights barely sleeping, the horrible feeling in your chest every morning? "Just… things." You smiled at him and, although he didn't seem satisfied with your answer, he didn't press further, which you thanked. 

The music stopped and with one last step, so did your dancing. Everyone applauded the orchestra and he peered down at you with a tiny smile. "Would you meet me in the piano room in ten minutes?" He asked. 

You looked at him surprised but amused. So this imposing and well-behaved man had a mischievous side. Nice. "Sure," you answered between a small laugh and then holding your hand, he kissed your knuckles and with a bow of his head, he disappeared in the crowd. 

Floating in the air you were left. 

You were following him with your eyes when a familiar voice distracted you. "Hey, princess. Nice work there," Xavier smirked and came close to you, Prompto by his side. 

"I have my moves," you joked, leaving an arm on his shoulder. "I don't need you anymore."

"I think that you're going to need me to distract the press who spent a whole roll of photography on you and the prince a moment ago." His smirk went bigger as you realized then the reason for Ravus’ request. Maybe it wasn’t because he was being naughty, just because he noticed the lenses around and he just wanted a little private talk. Okay, you sure had to pay more attention to your surroundings.

“What are you going to do to distract them?” you asked, playfully, turning just the slightest to see a couple of men with big cameras taking pictures here and there.

Xavier put an arm around Prompto’s waist and pulled him closer. Cute. “Well, maybe I can ask for the hand of this beautiful man in marriage.”

“Wha-!” Prompto’s face turned in all shades of red while you laughed and spotted a man just a few feet away who was aiming his deadly lens directly at you. And certainly you just gave him the angle he wanted for sure. 

Your friend laughed and kissed Prompto in the cheek. “Okay, okay. I’ll wait a bit longer.” And you couldn’t help but smile at the happy couple, it was really good to see them like this. But now you had to think how you were going to lose that man to go to the encounter of your prince. Maybe bump into him and make him drop his camera. Or spill your wine on his white shirt. Or crawl under the tables to the exit... Okay, no, no, you’re not going to do that. 

You sighed and crossed your arms, making sure you were not facing the camera man so he won’t take any more pictures of you. More than the hundreds he sure had by now. 

Then a loud _boom_ was heard in the distance and the ballroom got illuminated from above. The _oh’s_ and _ah’s_ of the crowd filled the space and looking up you saw the fireworks in the sky. Beautiful lights of all colors covered the night while everyone paused to look at them. 

This was your chance.

Taking a step back you glanced at the camera man to see his instrument pointing at the dancing lights. So, very discreetly, you moved away from the hypnotized crowd and made your way to the exit that led to the hall where the piano room was. 

The glaives that were stationed at the entrance didn’t pay much attention to you since you used to move freely through most of the corridors of the Citadel. So, after smiling kindly at them, you went your way to your man just to feel observed a few steps later. 

Taking advantage of the reflection of one of the windows in the corridor, you saw the man with the camera trying to pass the guards. Ha! He believed he could pass them just like you did, obviously he didn’t know who you were. The glaives stopped him just by the exit and said something to him that made him show his press pass to them. That was your call to move faster. Then you rounded the corner of the corridor and, almost running on your heels with a smirk on your face, you reached the grand door of the piano room and opened it quickly just enough to enter and locked it behind you.

Panting slightly for the adrenaline of being caught and the small race, you stood there in the dim light, hearing if someone was approaching. Some hurried steps sounded just outside to disappear right after. Good. You lost him. But what if Ravus wasn’t there yet? You heard no sound in the room and you just locked the door. Okay, calm down. He would knock or something… right?

“Ah-!” A huge gasp was stiffed by your hand on your mouth at the feeling of a hand on your arm. Turning immediately, you saw a smiling, handsome, silver-haired man behind, coming closer to you. “Why do you like to scare me?” you spoke in a low voice between a laugh, taking your hand now to your chest in an attempt to calm your nerves. 

“Apologies,” he sure seemed amused, holding your other hand in his, then taking it to place it flat on his chest. “I swear it is never my intention,” then putting his other hand on your back, pulling you closer to him.

Your smile didn’t waned and neither did his, leaning forward to press his forehead on yours. “I missed you terribly,” he said just for your ears to hear. His lightly champagne-splattered breath intoxicated you and you couldn't help but cup his cheek.

“As I missed you, too.” And without wasting any more time, you kissed him long and deeply as he kissed you back. Your heart pounding in your head while your hands ran through his hair, his neck, his face. You just wanted to touch him all over, to feel him real right there. There were so many long days without him, longing for his touch one more time, that your hands just couldn’t satiate. 

But neither could his.

His hands on your back, holding you in place to never let you go. No more. His metal hand firmly wrapping your smaller body while his flesh hand took the chance to caress your naked back. Every little move of his fingertips sent shivers all over you, making you bristle. Every time his palm landed flat on your skin, the warmth that ran through you was incredible. 

Like you both were starved for each other, time passed and you forgot about the world. The only thing that told you that the planet kept spinning was the music that was heard in the distance. Right, there was a ball out there. Hopefully, no one was missing you.

“What’s the plan now?” you asked him in a quiet voice, resting your hands on his chest. Smiling as he stroked your cheek and kept you flushed against his body. Catching your breath that he took away with his mouth.

A slow and romantic melody began to sound. He took your hands and led them to his neck, then placed his on your back again. “The plan, my dear, is to make up for lost time.”

“Oh, yeah?” you smiled, nuzzling his nose with yours. “And how are we supposed to do that?”

He smiled back and began to swing you both slowly to the rhythm of the soft music, his forehead leaned on yours. “First of all, dance with me,” his voice was even softer but somehow was all you could hear. “Then we will figure out the rest.”

<>

_With pitying hands and gentle feet,  
They bore a child in from the street,_

_Mangled and bruised in every limb,  
With brow snow-cold and blue eyes dim._

_And they kissed the hair on his golden head,  
And sobbed: "Thank God, the child is dead."_

_But the surgeon sighed: "Alas! Not so.  
Life lingers still, though ebbing slow."_

_And day and night, beside the cot,  
No means unused, no skill forgot,_

_Striving as if with strength of ten,  
He won the broken life agen._

_Back from the brink of Death's calm river,  
To struggle, sicken, suffer forever—_

_Back from the shores where sleep the dead,  
To toss long years on a terrible bed._

_And the surgeon wrote in his private book:  
"Sin, sorrow, wrong, where'er I look._

_"I have saved a sorrowful life. And why?  
That a child taste hell ere allowed to die."_

_And the surgeon closed his book, and said:  
"Three live by me who best were dead."_

<>

  
  


“I’m really tired of seeing that smile on your face, you know?” Xavier said as you both were changing in the locker room.

“Shut up,” you chuckled as you finished to put on your pants. “I haven’t said anything about that one on your stupid face.”

“That’s because it looks good on me, unlike you.” Your phone chimed on your bag and you ran to see the message. “Oh, gods. Again? Didn't you speak like five minutes ago?” he mocked.

“Shut the hell up!” you bite back as you opened the notification window to see the text from Ravus. Just the sight of his name on the screen was enough to make you smile like an idiot.

“I thought it was enough to have spent the whole week together,” Xavier stuffed his bag in his locker. “But clearly I was wrong.”

“It was a very short time, if you ask me.” You sat on the bench in the middle of the room to answer.

 **Ravus:** _Do you have surgery today?_

 **You:** _No. I just have to check on some patients. Light day :)_

 **Ravus** **_:_ ** _Very well. Let me know if anything happens._

It was like the fourth time he told you the same. He sure was nervous about the treaty sign.

 **You:** _Will do. Don’t worry. What’s on the news?_

 **Ravus:** _Not much so far. They just entered the Citadel._

 **You:** _And the guys? Are they with you?_

 **Ravus:** _Unfortunately, yes._

 **Ravus:** _I must say that Scientia is the only barely tolerable company._

That got a laugh out of you. He was really having a hard time with the boys there. Ever since they told you that King Regis had sent them to Altissia to settle those trade routes and then they would go to Tenebrae for a couple of days, you knew that Ravus would not be happy with that.

 **You:** _XD Don’t be mean with them. Remember you will see them very often from now on._

 **You:** _Okay. I’ll text you when I finish my round._

 **You:** _I’ll be thinking about you <3 _

**Ravus:** _So will I. You own my every thought._

Sighing happily, you smiled broadly again and locked your phone, putting it in the pocket of your white coat. 

“Gods, you look like a teenager,” Xavier joked, shaking his head, and you punched him in his arm, then both went out of the room to make your respective rounds in the surgery wing.

Yes, you felt like one. It had been a dream week. Every night you stayed with Ravus at the Citadel in the room that had been arranged for him permanently as the brother of the future queen. You hadn't even picked up the clothes you left there- which made you make a mental note to do it later in the evening. After the ball, he stayed all week while his sister and mother returned to Tenebrae. Initially, you’d thought about him staying in your apartment, but due to the harassment of the press, which he didn’t want you to face yet, you decided that you would stay together in the Citadel where no one could enter and no one would notice your entry or exit. Everything fed by the photographs on the newspapers and the speculations about the woman who danced with the stoic prince of Tenebrae. 

And those days were wonderful. To wake up every morning by his side, your alarm clock was him lavishing you in kisses because he always woke up before you did. A morning person you discovered, although you suspected he stayed up late, too, when he was at home, but here he always went to bed at the same time with you. But no sex, not yet. Things got _heated_ a couple of times, of course, but you decided to wait a little and enjoy the building of a relationship… Although it didn’t stop you from feeling his morning wood against your lower back for a couple of days… Oh, the thoughts.

Sleeping every night in his arms, with the tender way he placed a pillow over his prosthetic arm so that you would not be bothered by the hardness of the metal when resting your head on it while he could embrace you with his right arm. Seeing him coming out from the shower with his damped hair. Watching him sleep. Smelling the scent of his warm skin. 

Kissing him goodbye before you started your day and kissing him again in the afternoon when you returned from the hospital. It was all you could ask for. When he returned to Tenebrae the day before, you felt so sad and so did he, but this time was different from your last goodbye. This time you both knew you were together, and not even distance would bring you apart now. A whole future was in front of you.

“Alright, Mr. Dorden,” you spoke to the man on the stretcher in the last room of the floor. “This looks good and it won’t leave much of a scar, but next time I recommend staying away from the volcano. Someone else can take those photographs.”

The big man chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I think I’m gonna start to hire people to do that stuff.”

“That’s a good idea,” you made a small laugh. “Okay, I’m going to sign your out.”

“Thanks, doctor.”

With hands in your pockets, you made your way to the nursery station. Thank the gods, the surgery wing was not so full these days so you could take your time to do the paperwork. Some evolutions left to type and-

“ _Aaahhh!_ ” 

The giant roar in the distance followed by the explosion of the glass made everyone duck behind what they could found. Covering your head with your arms, you ran behind the counter where the nurses had taken refuge, one of them with small cuts on her face and bleeding.

“Are you okay!?” the screams of the people forced you to speak louder. The alarms went off and the guards ran from one place to another.

“Yes,” the voice of the nurse was trembling. “I think so. What… what happened?”

Taking a quick look at her face you could see that was nothing serious. “Take care of her,” you told one of the aides. “I’m going to check on the patients.”

Breathing fast, you stood up and ran to the rooms. Some nurses were already entering to see if the patients were hurt, people were crying, others were paralyzed, but fortunately no one seemed seriously injured. 

“Everyone okay!?” you asked by the door of the first room and both patients nodded, visibly scared. The same answer in the next and in the next one. But then you couldn’t believe what your eyes saw through the broken window when you rounded the corner.

“Oh, fuck... Oh, no,” you mumbled with a hand on your mouth. The view from that window looked directly into the Citadel area and all you could see was smoke. Smoke and flames.

The ambulance alarms began to sound very close and you knew that the wounded were going to start arriving. In the midst of panic, you remembered Ravus. _Let me know if anything happens_. You looked for your phone in your pocket and it wasn't there. Dammit. Your coat pockets were empty, it probably fell off when you ducked and ran. You went quickly back down the hall but there was nothing but broken glass, nothing back to the nursing station. Lost.

There was no time for that, what awaited you the rest of the day, or the next couple of days maybe, was hell. You would find a way to talk to him.

“Doctor!” an aide came running to you, panting. “We need everyone in the emergency room, there are… there are too many.”

“I know. Come on!” You run down the stairs with her all the way to the first floor where the emergency room was. And _too many_ fell short. 

The room was already awash with people and blood and more kept coming. All the staff were already downstairs and the operating rooms were being set up. Screams, cries, pleads, and the terrible protocol of war to be used in these cases was in place. Only save who could be saved. A decision that no doctor ever wants to make.

“Doctor!” a nurse called out for you and you ran towards her and the patient on the stretcher. “Thoracic trauma, possible hemothorax. The other lung sounds good.”

“Yes,” you percussed and listened to the lung, agreeing with her. The heart sounded right. “Help me take him to the procedure room.” And both pushed the stretcher to take him to place a chest tube. 

The next hour or two, or three, you weren't sure how much time had passed, it was the same. The most serious, but with possibilities, went up to surgery where the general surgeons were ready. The others stayed downstairs, in improvised procedure rooms and the rest of the staff doing CPR for those who could bear it. 

Suddenly, your name echoed in the small room where you were stitching a muscle, making you turn around to see Xavier running towards you.

“The king and his shield!” he panted as soon as he reached you. Oh, gods, no. “They’re injured!”

“Do the last stitches!” You commanded the nurse and went running along with Xavier.

“The shield is the most serious, he’s unconscious! I think the king is mostly fine!”

“My gods! What the hell happened!?” you asked, mostly rhetorically as you enter the room where they were. The aides and the nurses already channeling veins and taking vital signs.

“The Empire…,” was all Xavier could say before you placed between King Regis and Clarus, as he always insisted you to call him.

“I’m fine… I’m fine,” the king said, barely holding up a hand. His bad leg was bleeding although not profusely, probably a cut with a long sword. Some scratches on his face. “Please...Clarus.”

You nodded quickly and taking your stethoscope, you placed it on his broad chest. Heartbeats, weakened. Blood pressure, low. Neck veins, distended.

“He has a cardiac tamponade!” you yelled and quickly the nurse removed the brake from the stretcher and Xavier and another aide helped you pull the stretcher to the elevator to take him to emergency surgery. “Shit!”

“The Empire attacked the Citadel,” Xavier told you as you entered the elevator. His surgical gown was already covered in blood, just like yours. “But the surroundings suffered the worst part.”

“My gods… was this all a trap?” the doors opened and the three of you ran, pulling the stretcher, to the surgery rooms. “Please, gods, let there be one empty.” You prayed.

“Oh, gods, another one?” The nurse and the anesthesiologist asked at unison in the room that, apparently, was recently used.

“Yes,” Xavier answered, placing the stretcher in the center of the room. No time to transfer him to the surgery one. “And nothing more than the shield of the king.”

“Shit!” the anesthesiologist exclaimed and set everything ready as fast as he could.

Clarus’ clothing was cut off and ripped off to initiate the open thoracotomy. A large deep incision along his left chest to the pleura, cutting it with care to not damage important blood vessels. The spacer was placed between his ribs and, fortunately, when you reached the lung, it seemed fine when you pulled it down.

“Clamp the aorta,” you indicated Xavier who was assisting you and so he did. Then you could continue with the procedure.

Opening the pericardium first with the scalpel and then with the scissors, dark blood spilled out of his body. Drying the blood with the gauze and helping you with your fingers to explore the heart, you found a small wound that fortunately did not affect the coronary arteries. Probably made by a dagger that, thank the gods, didn’t reach further. 

“The skin stapler, please.” The nurse was handing you the instrument before you finished the request. Blessed staff of this hospital. 

By stapling the muscle, the bleeding stopped, but so did the big man's heart.

“Fuck! No, no, no!” you yelled as you reached into Clarus’ chest for direct heart massage. “Don’t do this to me!” Rhythmically pressing the heart of man, you prayed to all the gods. It couldn't be that Gladio's father died in your hands. Literally in your hands. No. Not today. 

“Come on, man!” You kept pressing and pressing but it was starting to feel painful for your hand. “Come on!”

You went on, a little more. This man was strong. You knew he could do it.

“Come on...” you almost begged him, “stay with me.” You wanted to cry.

Just a little more…

Just a little more… “Please…”

And like answering you... the great muscle began to beat on its own again.

You realized that everyone in the room was holding their breath because a sigh was heard in unison. Xavier looked at you, smiling with his eyes above his face mask and you watched Clarus’ heart beating for a few more seconds. His blood pressure stabilized and you could go on with the stitches of his pericardium.

“Let me finish it,” Xavier took the instruments because your hand was shaking due to the previous effort.

“Yeah,” you smiled. “Thank you.” And you switched places.

With the large suture along his side, the surgery ended with a stable Clarus ready for a necessary blood transfusion. Not awake yet, but he would be in the next couple of hours. 

Exhausted, you sighed, leaning on the stretcher. “While you finish I'm going to see how the king is,” you said to your marvelous team.

“He’s on the second floor, I guess,” the nurse replied. “I told them to take him to an empty room.”

“Good, yeah. I’ll check there then. Thanks.” Everyone nodded and thanked you back and you left the room almost shuffling. 

After washing up, you left the surgery area to find chaos again. The wounded continued to come, blood covered the corridor. But you should see the king, it was your duty first. You took the elevator and made it to the second floor. Having to go sideways to get to where he probably was, you took a deep breath and started walking. 

Almost instinctively, you reached into the pocket of your white coat to take out your phone, just to remember that you no longer had it. How much would you give to be able to talk to Ravus right now. And if he already knew what had happened, you couldn't imagine how worried he must be. You reminded yourself to ask Xavier for his phone as soon as you saw him again to make a call.

This was insane. It was unbelievable. The reaches of the Empire were greater than you imagined. You just prayed that Ravus and the others were safe. You just wanted-

_Boom!_

A terribly loud, deep bellow and a high-pitched sound in your ears were the last things you heard before being thrown into the air. In slow motion you saw your extended arms and legs like made of rag. 

The world was suddenly upside down. Landing heavily on the floor, your head hit something.

Everything went dark.

Nothing more but silence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what can I say... We're almost there, guys. 
> 
> Thank you for still being here :)


End file.
